Police: Child sex abuse suspect on the run near Gainesville

GAINESVILLE, Texas (KXII) - Gainesville Police are searching for a man who they say escaped from them on Tuesday afternoon.

The chase began in Gainesville at the Quik Trip.

Sulphur Police had been working on a case involving Joshua Moreno, who they say is a child sexual abuser, who will be charged with lewd acts to a child.

“We had an active search warrant for Joshua’s phone,” Sulphur Police Chief Michael Plunkett said. “It had to do with that particular case that we were pinging and we were actively tracking that today. As we tracked him from Fort Worth to the state line, we learned that the highway patrol in Texas and Gainesville got in a pursuit with him.”

Gainesville Police learned that Moreno, who had a warrant in Oklahoma, was in town and tried to pull him over, but Moreno fled, leading them on a pursuit onto I-35.

“The Department of Transportation was assisting,” Gainesville Police Chief Kevin Phillips said. " They used spike strips to deflate three of the tires. He traveled for a brief distance after that on rims and at that point he exited his vehicle, fled west across lanes and into heavily wooded area.”

Moreno abandoned his vehicle around exit 503 and ran into the woods north of the Texas Travel Center located near the Texas-Oklahoma border.

Police said Moreno was last seen wearing a gray tank top and baggy jeans.

If you see him, they ask that you do not approach and call 911.