Police hunt for sex offender Daniel Livingstone

WANTED: Daniel Livingstone

Police are still hunting sex offender Daniel Livingstone and have asked his associates to contact authorities after the convicted child rapist went on the run yesterday.

Livingstone was living in Upper Hutt after his release from jail last year for the abduction and rape of a 10-year-old girl in Whangarei in 2006.

His electronic monitoring bracelet had been tampered with and police found it when they went to the address.

Detective Inspector Grant Wormald told Newstalk ZB police were aware of who Livingstone had visited while he had the bracelet on.

"We're certainly working through a number of addresses, a number of people that we know that he's been in contact with...We'd certainly call on anybody who has heard from him, or received a text from him, or anything along those lines just to let us know that he's out and about."

Livingstone was described as 175 centimetres tall, Maori and of medium build.

It's thought he might have two suitcases with him.

He was on an extended supervision order, or ESO, which was an order for offenders who'd completed jail sentence and were considered to pose an ongoing risk of committing child sex offences. They were for offenders who legally could not be kept in prison any longer.

The sex offender left a suicide note before going on the run, police confirmed this morning.

Detective Inspector Grant Wormald also told Radio New Zealand there'd been potential sightings of the fugitive in Whangarei, Palmerston North, and Wellington but Livingstone remained at large.

Livingstone's victim had been told of his escape, Mr Wormald said.

Police were tracking down Livingstone's friends, associates, relatives and his past contacts, he said.

Parents and caregivers should be "particularly vigilant" around schools, Mr Wormald said.