A manhunt is underway in Georgia for a convicted rapist and child molester who is serving a life sentence and was released “in error,” the authorities said.

The inmate, Tony Maycon Munoz-Mendez, who had been incarcerated at Rogers State Prison in Reidsville, Ga., about 65 miles west of Savannah, walked free on Friday around 11:30 a.m., according to the Georgia Department of Corrections.

Image Tony Maycon Munoz-Mendez Credit... Georgia Department of Corrections

The department, one of the country’s largest prison systems with nearly 52,000 inmates, announced his release in a statement three days after the incident. It did not explain how the error had occurred or why it had not been revealed sooner.