(February 11, 2008)

SAN DIEGO--Authorities are still searching for a jail escapee who is believed to be hiding in the Coastal Bend somewhere. 27-year-old Abel Morin, a convicted rapist and kidnapper, was in the process of being transferred to a state prison to begin a life sentence, when he escaped from the county lockup in Hebbronville. He was reportedly seen over the weekend, in San Diego, Texas where his family lives.

Sightings about Morin are being called in throughout the Coastal Bend with the latest one being in Kingsville about an hour ago. While officers are checking out the leads, he's still on the loose. For now, they're top priority is to find him without getting anybody hurt.

Investigative sources said a jailer has been suspended after reports that she was allegedly having sex with Abel Morin, while housed in Duval County. The Duval County Sheriff's Department will not confirm those reports, but they do say she was getting in the way in the search for morin.

"This particular individual has impeded into our investigation as to the whereabouts of Morin," said Bruno Valdez, who is the Duval County Sheriff's Chief Deputy. 

They also said a man who knows Morin saw him S0aturday on the southside of San Diego, Texas. So authorities converged on the area with a search dog to look for the jail escapee.

"They showed up as well as a DPS Chopper, but we were unable to locate him," Valdez said. 

Authorities said Morin escaped from Jim Hogg County Jail last Tuesday night after walking out of three open doors. It's believed he walked a few blocks away to a U-Haul center and hid inside of this truck. Once the coast was clear, they believe he broke this window and used a screw driver to start the truck.

"We figured he started it," said Duval County Sheriff Santiago Barrera. "It must have been 20 hours after he escaped. That he was here in San Diego."

Authorities said Morin left behind no personal belongings or personal clothing inside the cab of this truck. So they brought in the Department of Public Safety to fingerprint the cab area to see if he actually stole the truck.

Authoritiies are waiting for the fingerprints to come back, but for now they're focusing their search on this small town.

"Yes, sir, I still believe that he is held up somewhere here locally," said Valdez. 

Police officers are searching abandoned homes in the area and their main focus is to get Morin back behind bars.

--Manuel De La Rosa, Area 3 News, mdelarosa@kiiitv.com