ST. PETERSBURG — On Friday evening shortly after 4 p.m., a patient under care at a St. Petersburg hospital walked out. A security guard observed him headed towards a nearby canal and called police.

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office responded to Mease Countryside Hospital, in Dunedin, and began searching for 47-year-old Terry Len Burch, of Oldsmar. Police said Burch was last seen wearing a hospital gown and red socks.

The investigation revealed that Burch entered the Lake Tarpon Outfall Canal at Curlew and McMullen Booth Roads. Witnesses said Burch waded into the canal and then disappeared.

Several agencies responded to search the canal for Burch including the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Patrol, Marine, Flight, K-9, Dive Team, and M.A.I.T. Units. The Dive Team employed the use of a Side Scan Sonar and located Burch’s body in the canal near his entry point, about 9:17 p.m., Friday, police said.