BUTLER TWP - A teenager remains at large today, one day after bolting out of a car on Route 8 South that was taking him to a Venango County juvenile rehabilitation center.

Butler Township police along with a scent-detecting dog, troopers and a state police helicopter searched Wednesday for more than an hour around the Comfort Inn and the Butler County Community College, but they were unable to find the 16-year-old boy.

It was not immediately known how the boy from McKeesport, Allegheny County, was able to get away from his charge - an employee of VisionQuest in Franklin.

Police believe the boy was not handcuffed or restrained in any way.

VisionQuest officials were unavailable for comment this morning.

Police said the employee was taking the boy from the Shuman Juvenile Detention Center in Pittsburgh to the VisionQuest facility about noon when he somehow managed to get out of the car on Route 8, township police said.

The youth ran up the hill near the Comfort Inn, prompting a search by township officers and troopers.

A state police helicopter circled the area and an Evans City police K-9 officer and dog also tracked the boy's scent around the motel and into the area around BC3 and the Old Plank Estates apartment complex

A BC3 police officer apparently spotted a teen matching the suspect's description; however, he was unaware the teen was wanted, said township police Chief Gary Garman.

The boy is described as white, about 5 feet, 10 inches tall and 150 pounds. He has short blonde hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing black jeans. He was not wearing a shirt, apparently after slipping out of a white T-shirt.

Police issued a lookout advisory to other departments for the youth, before calling off the search about 1:15 p.m.