Five boys escape Goochland youth facility, all later found safe
Five boys slipped out of Hallmark Youthcare in Goochland County, and all were later found safe, one day after eight girls escaped the same facility.
Virginia State Police were called to Hallmark Youthcare at about 10:09 p.m. July 6 after staff reported that five boys had left the Goochland County facility. Three of the boys were located safely a short time later, and the remaining two were later found safe in the Virginia Beach area, about a two-hour drive away.
How the boys ended up in Virginia Beach remains under investigation. The incident came just one day after eight girls escaped the same facility early Sunday, July 5, and all eight were found safe and returned to Hallmark Youthcare by 11 a.m. that morning.
The Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services had staff onsite to investigate the recent events, while Hallmark Youthcare was conducting an internal review and cooperating with law enforcement and state oversight agencies.
Hallmark Youthcare serves adolescents ages 11 to 17 and is a psychiatric residential treatment facility for youth with emotional and behavioral issues, including problems tied to past traumatic experiences.
DBHDS records show the state cited Hallmark 27 times between January 2024 and September 2025, with violations that included failures involving active supervision, an employee assaulting a resident and a gate left open that allowed two residents to run away. DBHDS records also show a 2007 citation for failing to report an incident to Human Rights within 24 hours, along with January 2010 approval for the STOP Program, a residential treatment program for adolescent male sex offenders.
DBHDS records from 2011 also reflect multiple complaint reports and human-rights monitoring in Goochland-Powhatan committee minutes.
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