‘Violent psychopath' escapes Hawaii hospital, flies to California

SAN JOSE, Calif. (FOX NEWS) - A "violent psychopath" sneaked out of a Hawaii psychiatric hospital, hopped a taxi, snagged a seat on a charter flight to Maui and slipped aboard a jet to California -- hours before anyone even told authorities he was missing.

The delay in reporting deprived officials of precious time to implement the multi-state dragnet deployed for Randall Toshio Saito in earnest Tuesday.

Saito, 59, who was acquitted of a 1979 murder by reason of insanity, escaped Hawaii State Hospital outside of Honolulu on Sunday at 10 a.m. and walked a mile to Kaneohe Community Park where he caught a taxi that took him to a chartered plane, Hawaii News Now reported. Surveillance video showed Saito, who told the driver his name was "Bill," go into the vehicle.

Police said Saito took the chartered plane to Maui, where he boarded another flight to San Jose, Calif., where authorities are now searching for him. Hospital staff members called 911 to report Saito's disappearance about 7:30 p.m. Sunday -- two hours after his flight arrived in San Jose, police said. It's unclear why it took hours for the staff to report the missing patient or what reason Saito had given to leave the hospital.