MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) – A man released from a Vermont prison last week after completing a 20-year-sentence for murder is missing from the Charleston, Maine, transitional home where he went to live, police say.

The Penobscot County, Maine, sheriff’s department is seeking an arrest warrant for Kent Hanson, 63, on charges that he stole the pickup truck of the owner of Second Chance Ranch, where he was staying.

Vermont police consider Hanson “a ticking time bomb.” He went missing Wednesday at about 7 p.m. at the same time the pickup truck belonging to the ranch’s owner was reported stolen, officials said.

The sheriff’s department is in the process of applying for an arrest warrant charging Hanson with theft, said Troy Morton, chief deputy at the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department

Hanson became “stressed” after people near his new home confronted him about his history, Vermont State Police Chief Criminal Investigator Capt. Tim Bombardier said Thursday.

Police are looking for a 2003 GMC pickup truck with Maine license plate 78494.

Bombardier said he didn’t know if Hanson could be headed back to Vermont or what he might be doing.

“The vehicle is missing at the same time; just with Mr. Hanson’s past history we thought it was prudent that law enforcement be aware of the circumstances as well as the public and people who had contact with him in the past,” Bombardier said.

“If anybody in the public sees him and the vehicle we’re asking that they notify area law enforcement,” he said.

Vermont police distributed the phone number of the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department, 207-945-4636.

Hanson has both mental health and alcohol abuse problems. When drinking he should be considered especially dangerous, Vermont police said.

Hanson was charged with killing his wife in 1964. He pleaded innocent by reason of insanity. In 1985, three weeks after being released from custody on other charges, he killed a woman.

During the current legislative session Vermont Public Safety officials have pushed lawmakers to establish a civil commitment law that would allow the state to hold certain individuals who are considered extremely dangerous after they have completed their prison sentences. Hanson was held up as the example of why such a a law was needed.

Public Safety Commissioner Kerry Sleeper has called Hanson “a ticking time bomb.”

“The Public Safety Department is going to be very vigilant to protect the safety of Vermonters,” Gov. James Douglas said Thursday at a news conference.

Hanson does not have a valid driver’s license.

Hanson walked out of the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans on May 12. Officials would not say where he was headed.

Hanson had completed his sentenced and he was under no restrictions or requirements to report to area police or a probation office.

Morton described the Second Chance Ranch, as a facility for former inmates and others in need of transitional housing.