Bruce Franklin Burns

LARNED ? A man convicted of sex crimes against children is on the run after escaping from the Larned State Hospital.

Hospital spokesman Cory Turner says 41-year-old Bruce Franklin Burns escaped during a Wednesday afternoon sexual predator treatment program. Pawnee County authorities say the search for Burns continued Thursday.

Burns is 5-foot-10 male of American Indian descent, with brown eyes, long brown hair and facial hair. He was last seen wearing a navy blue jacket, khaki pants, black shoes and a navy blue ski cap.

The Hutchinson News reports that Burns was sent to Larned after serving prison terms for 1997 crimes of aggravated criminal sodomy of a child under the age of 14 and aggravated indecent liberties with a child under the age of 14. His convictions came in Wyadotte County.