HALIFAX -- Nova Scotia Health is asking for the public’s help in locating a patient reported missing from a hospital in Dartmouth, N.S.

The health authority says the longer 28-year-old Marcel David Lawrence is away from hospital, the greater his risk increases.

Nova Scotia Health did not say at which hospital Lawrence is a patient or when he was reported missing.

Lawrence is described as an African-Canadian man with brown eyes and short, dark hair. He is six feet tall, weighs 232 pounds, and has several tattoos on his face and neck.

Lawrence was last seen wearing a light grey sweat suit and sneakers.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact their local police department.