Vancouver police say high-risk sex offender Randall Hopley was likely worried about an upcoming court appearance and took "deliberate actions" to avoid it when he walked away from his Vancouver halfway house.

Sgt. Steve Addison says at about 3 p.m. on Saturday Hopley told several people that he was going to a nearby thrift store, but removed his electronic monitoring bracelet a short time later and has not been seen since.

Hopley has a history of convictions for assault, property and sexual crimes, including three sex offences against children.

He was declared a long-term offender and handed a six-year prison term for the 2011 abduction of a three-year-old boy in southeastern British Columbia.

Addison says Hopley was accused of violating his supervision orders earlier this year and had been released to a halfway house while awaiting the outcome of that case when he walked away.

A Canada-wide warrant has been issued and Addison says the 58-year-old could still be in Vancouver or a neighbouring municipality and the department's high-risk offender team is among the units searching for him.