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Law enforcement officers mounted a horse on Sunday in search of 46-year-old Gonzalo Lopez, a convicted murderer who escaped from a prison bus on Thursday after stabbing the driver and fleeing on foot.
Lopez fled to Leon County, a rural area between Dallas and Houston that has about 16,000 residents.
“We have no reason to believe he left the area,” the Leon County Sheriff’s Office said on Saturday. “There is currently no evidence to support this.
Gonzalo Lopez escaped from the prison bus after stabbing a correctional officer during transportation. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice)
Lopez is serving a life sentence for kidnapping and killing him with a pickaxe in Hidalgo County near the US-Mexico border in 2006, as well as attempted murder for shooting a police officer in Web County a few years earlier, according to Fox 4 Dallas .
CONVICTION PRISONED BY TEXAS ESCAPES FROM BUS from PRISON AFTER COMBINED ATTACK ON EXECUTIVE OFFICER
He overcame and stabbed the driver before the transport bus crashed on Thursday, authorities said. The driver, an employee of the repairmen, is without life-threatening injuries.
The Leon County Sheriff, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the Texas Department of Public Safety and other agencies were involved in the search on Sunday.
Dozens of law enforcement officers were on horseback and used dogs to try to find Lopez.
A $ 50,000 reward is offered for information leading to Lopez’s capture.
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Authorities warned residents not to approach the fugitive if they saw him.
“If you live in the search area, be extremely careful and keep all doors locked on houses, buildings and vehicles,” said the Leon County Sheriff’s Office.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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