Search for Texas inmate expands as land, air operations end

CENTERVILLE, Texas (AP) — Authorities say the search by ground and air in the Texas county where a convicted murderer escaped from a prison transport bus and stabbed the driver last week has concluded as the hunt for him expands. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has said 46-year-old Gonzalo Lopez was being transported to a medical appointment on May 12 in a caged area of the bus when he escaped in Leon County, a rural area between Dallas and Houston. The department said Friday that the search was entering “a new, expanded phase,” saying some personnel will remain in the county and will conduct strategic searches of areas outside the original secured perimeter.