[TDKR] Where was the Joker in The Dark Knight Rises?

While its common knowledge know that Heath Ledgers Joker wouldn’t be shown in the film The Dark Knight Rises, it still begs the question, where did The Joker go during Bane’s hostel takeover of Gotham?

The novelization of the movie however seems to have the answer.

The site Nuke The Fridge has posted the following excerpt from Greg Cox’s novelization of the film, perhaps shedding some light on the location of the character and why he wasn’t shown during the release of all the Blackgate Prison inmates.

Now that the Dent Act had made it all but impossible for the city’s criminals to cop an insanity plea, it (Blackgate Prison) had replaced Arkham Asylum as a preferred location for imprisoning both convicted and suspected felons. The worst of the worst were sent here, except for the Joker, who, rumor had it, was locked away as Arkham’s sole remaining inmate. Or perhaps he had escaped. Nobody was really sure. Not even Selina.