MOUNT Isa police were last night appealing for anyone who had seen dangerous sex offender Tyrone Speechley in the city to contact police after he had evaded authorities for more than 48 hours.
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Speechley, originally from Mount Isa, is thought to be hiding out in the city after stealing a vehicle in Townsville on Tuesday night, driving it across the North West and dumping the car at Fountain Springs yesterday morning.
Speechley, 25, absconded from a low-security Townsville prison accommodation facility on Monday night with offender Algana Tiers, which sparked a large-scale manhunt for the pair.
Tiers was caught by police but Speechley managed to escape into a nearby river and evaded police throughout the night.
Police found the abandoned blue Hyundai i30, stolen from Townsville by Speechley, at a road stop near Fountain Springs between Mount Isa and Cloncurry yesterday.
Extra police were sent to the area to search bushland and check cars and trucks in case Speechley had hitched a ride.
Mount Isa Police Child Protection Investigation Unit Detective Senior Sergeant Kelly Harvey said late yesterday he had not been found and police were putting the call out to residents to call Crimestoppers if they believed they had seen him.
"An investigation team is being set up and we won't be stopping enquiries until he is located," she said.
"We believe he will probably attempt to locate family and associates but at this point if anybody thinks they see him we urge them to call Crimestoppers."
Speechley was subject to a Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act order, and had been known to escape custody, break bail conditions and evade police on numerous occasions in the past.
n Crimestoppers can be contacted on 1800 333 000.