Escapee reported at California motel, deputies find no one

MARINA, Calif. (AP) – Authorities say one of two murder suspects who escaped from a California jail was reported to be at a motel about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the jail, but authorities found no one there after a nearly eight-hour standoff.

Monterey County Sheriff’s Office Capt. John Thornburg tells KPIX-TV deputies surrounded a motel in the town of Marina on Tuesday after getting a call from an employee who reported spotting 20-year-old Jonathan Salazar.

Deputies found his motel room empty.

Deputies say Salazar and 21-year-old Santos Fonseca escaped Sunday from the Monterey County jail in Salinas after climbing thorough a hole they made on the ceiling of a bathroom.

Both had been in custody since 2018 and were awaiting trial on murder counts and “numerous other felony charges” in separate cases.