The search effort in the area around where the 25-year-old convict escaped ended on Friday, and the case has been transferred to police in Stockholm.

He was being transported from a psychiatric detention centre in Gothenburg to Salberga Prison in Sala when he escaped from a stopped transport vehicle between Finnerödja and Laxå at around 11:30am on Thursday.

According to police, there was no violent struggle involved in the escape. The suspect, reportedly barefoot and still in handcuffs, ran into a heavily wooded area.

“We have had a nationwide alert since the day he disappeared,” Eva Nilsson, press officer with Stockholm Police, said, adding that the man was now being searched for internationally.

Nilsson said that there were no indications the man had left Sweden, however.

“There is nothing to indicate (that he has left the country), but if he does he will face the obstacle that Sweden is searching for him (internationally),” she said.

The international search notice was issued on Saturday afternoon.

Police are currently not conducting any active organised searches other than normal investigative procedure.

The 25-year-old was arrested in April for a stabbing death in the Stockholm area. He is convicted of murder but has appealed against the verdict and is therefore deemed to be under arrest.

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