A child molester who disappeared after he was discharged from federal prison has been captured after a mugshot was circulated asking for people to look out for the heavily tattooed convict.

Matthew Stager, 45, was released from the Federal Correctional Institution in Petersburg, Virginia on Tuesday, and was order to show up that same day to a transitional center in Texas.

But Stager never showed, and U.S. Marshals begun scrambling to find the convicted sex offender.

A manhunt was launched after Matthew Stager, 45 (pictured), failed to show up to a halfway house in Texas

The convict's (pictured above in Myspace photos) past offenses include taking liberties with a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina

A mugshot was circulated showing his heavily tattooed face and strawberry colored hair that he had in braids.

Within hours of his pictured circulating he was detained in Washington DC.

Stager's prior offenses include a conviction for taking indecent liberties whit a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina.

Marshals say he has a history of mental health and drug abuse issues.

In the past he has used the aliases Jesse Crew and Moon Black.