By Phil Helsel—
NBC News
After nine days of searching a Texas area where a convicted killer escaped, the manhunt is entering an "expanded phase" after the inmate was not found, state authorities said Friday.
The search for Gonzalo Lopez, 46, who attacked a prison bus driver to escape on May 12, will now be extended statewide, Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Robert Hurst said.
"We did everything we could on the ground or in the air to find any trace of him," Hurst said.
"After nine days, there was nothing conclusive to say that he was still in the area," he added.
A "wanted" poster shows Gonzalo Lopez. Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP
The manhunt had focused on a perimeter in rural Leon County, west of Centerville, between Dallas and Houston, where the escape occurred, and personnel there will be reduced, Hurst said.
Some staff will remain in Leon County, but "strategic searches will be conducted in areas outside the original security perimeter," the department said.
[Including an AR-15 rifle: the escaped inmate and the ex-officer had a cache of weapons in their car]
Lopez, who is serving life in prison for capital murder and attempted capital murder convictions, cut through a metal barrier to attack a prison bus driver and escaped on foot west of Centerville.
New videos show the arrest of the escaped prisoner and the former officer accused of helping him
May 11, 202200:42
More than 300 officers, on horseback, on foot, with police dogs and helicopters, searched the rural area of farms and ranches that is roughly halfway between Dallas and Houston, authorities have said.
Lopez, who has a history with gangs in the United States and Mexico, was convicted of
kidnapping a man in 2005
and
then killing him with a pickaxe
when no ransom was paid, authorities said.
In the attempted murder case, Lopez was in a car when the driver shot a pursuing Webb County sheriff's deputy in 2004, according to court documents.
Lopez escaped on foot and later said that he had been moved to Mexico by the Mexican mob for a time, according to the documents.
This undated photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Gonzalo López.AP
Texas Inspector General Cris Love said anyone who helps Lopez is not only facing prosecution, but is putting their life in danger.
"Lopez has a
complete disregard for human life
and will do whatever it takes to avoid capture," Love said in a statement.
A $50,000 reward is being offered
for information leading to his capture, and authorities have stressed that anyone who sees him should contact police and stay away from him.