Police are warning the public that an escaped convict from the United States may be hiding in Oakville, Ont.

Halton Regional Police said the "violent and dangerous" fugitive was spotted Tuesday, when an SUV failed to pull over in a traffic stop near Sixth Line and Upper Middle Road.

Police saw a female driver and male passenger in the vehicle, which was later located at a nearby townhouse.

When the vehicle was located, the male passenger had fled. Police said the missing man is 32-year-old Anthony Joseph Maiorano from Savannah, Georgia.

Maiorano is supposed to be serving 20 years in prison for an aggravated assault and robbery committed in July 2006, but escaped from the Coastal Transition Center earlier this year.

He was given a one-day permit in April 2014, and never returned.

Shortly after the vehicle was discovered, Toronto police were called to Oakville to assist the hunt for Maiorano. Several schools were placed in a hold-and-secure as residences in the area were searched, but he has not yet been found.

Police are urging the public to call 911 and not approach him if he's spotted. He's considered armed and dangerous. Maiorano is described as a white male, 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, with brown eyes, short or shaved brown hair, and several tattoos.

He was last seen wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt with the word "Facebook" printed in white letters across the front.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call police at 905-825-4747, ext. 2210, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).