(MINERAL POINT, Mo., AP) — Dozens of law enforcement officers were searching a heavily wooded area in eastern Missouri on Saturday for a 30-year-old man suspected of shooting and killing a Washington County deputy.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Juston Wheetley said Washington County emergency crews responded to a 911 call about 2 a.m. Saturday regarding an unconscious person near Mineral Point, a town of about 350 residents that’s about 80 miles southeast of St. Louis.

As crews loaded the unconscious person into the ambulance, Deputy Christopher Parsons, 31, was shot and killed by someone outside a nearby mobile home, Wheetley said.

“As they were loading (the unconscious person) into the back of the ambulance they were ambushed,” Wheetley said.

He said Parsons had been a deputy since October and there was no apparent motive for the shooting.

Wheetley identified the suspect as Gary Sancegrow of Mineral Point. He said Sancegrow fled on foot into a heavily wooded area and was wearing camouflage clothing.

Sancegrow is still on the loose and is considered dangerous, he said. He said crews from several agencies were involved in the search.

“He used a rifle, but I don’t know if it was high-powered or a shotgun or what,” Wheetley said. “He is the only suspect we’re seeking at this time.”

Wheetley said Sancegrow and Parsons didn’t know each other.