elope

[Thomas Paikeday]

Is "elope" in the old sense of "escape" common in contemporary English?
All the examples in my database are in the sense of "run away together
to get married," as in "Dick eloped with Jane" and "They eloped."

I was surprised to see the following usages in _The Day the Voices
Stopped (a memoir of madness and hope)_ by Ken Steele & Claire Berman
(Basic Books, 2001):

"I was worried if people knew my real name, they'd soon learn I'd eloped
from Metropolitan" (p. 97) and "For no clear reason, except that I was
bored and was being prodded to get on with my death, I eloped from the
Lodge during one of our recreational trips...." (p. 152).