ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – The search continues for a convicted child sex offender who escaped from Mercy South Hospital early Thursday morning.

Local, state, and federal authorities are working to find Tommy Wayne Boyd. Boyd, 45, is serving a 30-year sentence at the Potosi Correctional Center for statutory sodomy. He’d been taken to Mercy South for an undisclosed treatment.

Boyd walked out of the main entrance at the hospital here shortly before 4 a.m.

Authorities said Boyd was in the custody of two state corrections officers when he escaped. There was no physical confrontation and no one was hurt.

There has been an intense search for Boyd throughout the day. A K9 unit was deployed to look for any signs of Boyd.

“The prisoner left the grounds around 4 a.m. We started bringing in resources,” Lt. Col. Jason Law, St. Louis County Police Department, said. “At this point, we are working with our state, local, and federal partners to make sure we apprehend this suspect. At this point, we have our flight operations, special response unit, canine, and state highway patrol.”

Police are pulling camera footage to figure out how Boyd could have escaped if he was in the custody of corrections officers.

Boyd is 5’7” and 154 pounds, with balding hair and a beard. He was last seen wearing a black sweatshirt, a black jacket, and orange slippers.