Updated 6.33pm: It appears a convicted child sex offender has already been on the run from his Wellington home for more than 12 hours. 

Daniel Livingstone was convicted in 2006 of the abduction and rape of a 10-year-old girl in Whangarei.

He was subject to an extended supervision order and has been living in Upper Hutt since June.

Detective Inspector Grant Wormald said Livingstone appears to have taken off in the early hours of the morning.

"Police were notified by Corrections staff that his bracelet that he was wearing as part of his release conditions had been tampered with, and we subsequently found that inside his house and he's gone."

Police hold grave concerns for both the potential risk Livingstone poses to the community and possibly to himself.

"We don't know what he's thinking at the moment or why he necessarily taken off at this time, but suffice to say that, given his convictions, given the fact that he's taken off out of the blue, we're just concerned with the potential risk that he could pose to the public," Wormbald said.

Livingstone is 175 centimetres tall, Maori, and of medium build.

It is believed he may have two suitcases with him.