I think the doctor said that Alice kept disappearing and her father only put her in the asylum because he was at his wits end. Ruby did put out a closed sign for Granny at one point.
My question is, how did Alice not age for 28 years? We know Jefferson was taken by the curse and the curse lasted 28 years hence why the hatter hadn’t been seen for “some time”. The knave was in Storybrooke and since this takes place during Broken, the Knave would have had to have been in Storybrooke for the duration of the curse- 28 years. Since Alice knew where the hatter lived, she must have met him before the curse was cast.
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Keeper of Felix