Convicted sex offender flees Palmer courthouse, departs Whittier by sailboat

A Wasilla man convicted of sexually abusing a child pulled off a brief, dramatic escape last week: he fled the Palmer courthouse Monday evening before troopers could take him into custody, drove to the coast, and by before dawn had sailed out of Whittier into Prince William Sound.

Philip Phillips, 58, had just been found guilty of first- and second-degree sexual abuse of a minor. Rather than surrender, he ran — and picked about the worst possible place to be chased. Prince William Sound is a maze of bays, coves, and islands reachable mostly by boat or plane, where searching for a single sailboat is far harder than any road pursuit. Troopers issued a no-bail warrant and took the hunt onto the water.