I agree but that means we should treat Hoover's tale with the appropriate level of caution as well. Having looked up the location of Stalag I, it's possible that he floated/swam across the estuary just west of the camp:
The airfield was just off the south edge of this map, which is pretty close to the camp and no doubt operations from this airfield could be seen from the camp. (source:
https://www.ww2.dk/Airfields%20-%20Germany%20[1937%20Borders].pdf). This document lists that the last operations from Barth were carried out on 30 April 1945, by Fw190s. The airfield was taken over by Soviet forces on 2-3 May 1945.
Some sources indicate that the Russian forces initially left the gates to the camp locked and only allowed US forces to start evacuating POWs two weeks later (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalag_Luft_I). Perhaps (just thinking out loud) Hoover did not escape from the Germans, but climbed over the fence during this period of imprisonment by the Russians?