A huge manhunt is on to locate the wife of jailed former socialist minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos, Vicky Stamati, who escaped from the Dromokaitio Psychiatric Hospital. The first investigations into her disappearance are centered around the laxity concerning the woman’s surveillance at the mental facility and on claims circulating around the internet that her son, aged 7, is with her.

Georgia Stamati, the escaped woman’s mother, told Proto Thema that the child Alexis Tsochatzopoulos is with her and her husband in the mountain village of Zeli. “We are hiding the children from the TV channels,” she says, adding that the child understands what is going on “and has a problem.”

There is still confusion as to how Stamati managed to break out of her room. She either picked the lock on the bars or had outside help. The padlock outside the balcony door that was unlocked had not been damaged causing the police to wonder if it had been deliberately left open or if somebody had managed to copy the key.

Stamati had been sentenced in 2013 to 12 years in prison for money laundering. Shortly after her trial she had a double mastectomy and a complete nervous breakdown in December 2013 where she reportedly attempted suicide and was diagnosed with severe depression.

She appealed five times but parole was denied, the latest time on Wednesday, shortly before escaping at dawn on Thursday. She cited her bad health and her child’s needs as reasons for a conditional release from prison.

A rambling note that Stamati left on the bed before leaving reportedly denounces judges and claims that they should have released her. The note does not appear to indicate an intent to suicide.

Her lawyer, Frangiskos Ragousis, says that Stamati had told him that she did not want to die in prison and wanted to be with her child. He speculates that she may be headed to her child or to Parliament to stage a protest. Through the media, Ragousis has urged his client to not worsen the situation.

Reports state that she spoke to her husband, who urged her to show calm and patience, before her escape. Her husband has issued a statement from prison where he is serving 20 years. He urged her to surrender in order to receive treatment.