Canada-wide warrant issued for high-risk sex offender missing in Vancouver

Another high-risk sex offender is on the loose in Vancouver after failing to return to his halfway house Thursday evening.

The Vancouver Police Department has issued a Canada-wide arrest warrant for Keith Edward Caouette after the 45-year-old man failed to return to his Vancouver halfway house only a few hours after beginning a 10-year Long Term Supervision.

Caouette is a two-time federal offender and has served 14 years for kidnapping and sexual assault with a weapon. He moved into a halfway house on Thursday and left around 5:30 p.m. He did not return to the home by his curfew and his location is currently unknown.

The VPD say Caouette has an extensive criminal record and is considered a high risk to reoffend violently.

Police describe him as Aboriginal, six feet tall, 300 pounds, green eyes and has brown hair in a ponytail. He also has a full sleeve of tattoos on his left arm, a skull band on his right wrist and three skulls on his right bicep.

Anyone who may know the whereabouts of Caouette is asked not to approach him and call 9-1-1 immediately.

Caouette last made news in 2010 when he was found with a homemade knife hidden in his prison cell. He began his sentencing at the Kent maximum-security prison on September 28, 2001.

He is among a number of sex-offenders living in Vancouver who are considered a high-risk to reoffend. Forty-four-year-old Michael Wayne Carpenter was released into the city at the end of August and several other men received Canada-wide arrest warrants this summer for also not returning to their halfway houses.

In August, Darren Wheatley, 45, failed to report to his halfway house and was wanted by police for breaching his court-imposed release conditions. He was later arrested by the VPD without incident.

In May, Gary Vogrig failed to return to his halfway house. The 51 year-old is a two-time federal offender who was serving a four-year and six-month sentence for sexual assault and threatening.

Also in May, police issued a Canada-wide arrest warrant for Gerald Richard McLean, a two-time federal offender serving a long-term supervision order after completing a two-year sentence for sexual assault, after his also did not return to his halfway house.