What must occur before a person can be charged with escape?

For an individual to be charged with escape, they must first be in a state of detention. If a person is not detained, there is no legal basis for the charge of escape because escape implies that there was an initial confinement or custody from which a person would flee. The act of escaping is contingent upon the fact that the individual was under restraint or control by law enforcement or the legal system. Therefore, only when a person is detained can their subsequent act of leaving that detention without permission be characterized as escape.