Texas increases reward to $22,500 for escaped fugitive

May 14 (UPI) -- Authorities in Texas are offering a $22,500 reward for information leading to the capture of escaped fugitive Gonzalo Lopez, who escaped during transport this week.

Lopez, 46, stabbed and overpowered a correctional officer on a transport bus and escaped in Leon County, about halfway between Dallas and Houston, on Tuesday. Jason Clark with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said the driver's injuries weren't life-threatening.

The TDCJ initially announced there would be a $15,000 reward for information leading to his capture, but authorities upped the reward late Friday. The new reward total comprises $10,000 offered by the U.S. Marshals, $7,500 from the Texas Department of Public Safety and $5,000 from the TDCJ.

The agency encouraged anyone with knowledge of Lopez's whereabouts to contact crime stoppers at 1-800-832-8477.

Lopez was serving a life sentence after being convicted of a 2006 murder in Hildago County along the Texas-Mexico border and an attempted murder in Webb County.