HONOLULU -- A patient who escaped from the Hawaii State Hospital remains at large Friday night.

The patient, Adonis Oandasan, is considered possibly dangerous because he may have a machete, said authorities.

State officials said Oandasan was doing yard work when he left the mental hospital around 2:30 p.m. Thursday.

State sheriffs and the police department spent the day looking for Oandasan.

"We consider anybody who escapes from a facility as incarceration to be dangerous because they're under a lot of stress," said Department of Public Safety spokesman Mike Gaede.

Oandasan was arrested last year for slashing the tires of at least 40 cars on the Big Island.

A state court ordered him confined to the Hawaii State Hospital.

Windward Community College is next to the hospital, and the latest escape isn’t sitting well with some students.

"Just scary," said student Corri Bell. "Just thinking he could come right over here if he has the desire or need to hurt anybody."

Oandasan is the 10th person to escape from the mental hospital this year.

Hospital officials said that number is down from 28 escapes in 2001 thanks to improvements in security at the facility.

The hospital houses about 170 people, many court-ordered criminals, even though the facility was not built as a psychiatric prison.

Notifying the public about escapees is a touchy area due to medical privacy laws, but in this case there was concern for public safety.

"This is a Department of Health facility and they are a health care provider so, by rule, they can't release doctor-patient information," said Gaede.

Oandasan is 35 years old, 5 foot 2 inches tall and weighs around 160 pounds. He was last seen wearing a blue shirt and dark shorts.

If you have information about Oandasan, you're asked to call police.