An ICE agent who was reported missing, launching a major search in Hollywood on Wednesday night, was found safe, authorities said.

The agent was apparently "picked up by a fellow (ICE) employee after experiencing vehicle problems overnight on a local freeway," said Virginia Kice, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The announcement came more than four hours after Los Angeles police and U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents began scouring Hollywood for the agent they believed to be missing, blocking traffic on the 101 (Hollywood) Freeway.

The agent was a member of the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations division, which is responsible for finding and arresting illegal immigrants, fugitives, convicted criminals and people who pose a threat to national security.

Agents with the ERO division also are charged with transporting those "removable aliens" and actually removing those ordered deported from the United States, according to the agency's website.

The large-scale search began about 6:30 p.m., Los Angeles police with the Rampart Division joined a Department of Homeland Security search, according to LAPD Officer Sara Faden. The search was in the area of Silverlake Boulevard and the 101 Freeway, she said.

Authorities closed one lane during the search along the shoulder and over the guardrail of the freeway.

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