An American soldier who deserted the army for a life in Vancouver has gone into hiding in the United States, after an apparent deal to grant him a quick discharge went sour.

Combat engineer Kyle Snyder fled to Canada in 2005 to avoid a second deployment in Iraq.

Last week, he left Vancouver to turn himself in at Fort Knox, Ky. He was under the impression he had a deal that would see him quickly discharged with no jail time.

But he told CBC News that upon his arrival in Kentucky, he was told to rejoin his army unit in Missouri.

"All of a sudden, the people that had made the deal with us aren't available, which is weird, because a United States soldier doesn't just come down from Canada every single day," he said.

Snyder refused to report to his unit and said he is now in hiding in Kentucky.

He said if the matter isn't resolved soon, he'll return to Canada and apply for refugee status again. 

Snyder also said he wants to warn other U.S. deserters to stay in Canada.

"Just don't come down. Don't trust it. I mean, if they're doing this on a case-by-case basis, like they said, then it's not worth it."

U.S. military officials could not be reached for comment on the case.