(Reported by CBS-11, apparently in Dallas)

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Law enforcement officials continued to comb through hundreds of leads Tuesday in their search for a gang of heavily armed prison escapees charged with killing an area police officer.

The seven fugitives may be in disguise and are believed to be hiding in the Dallas area, said Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Larry Todd.

``We are concentrating in the Metroplex,'' he said.

While authorities said they appreciated numerous calls about possible sightings of the escapees, ``We know they're not in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, El Paso and Texarkana at the same time,'' Todd said.

Hundreds of TDCJ employees, as well as the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Texas Department of Public Safety, were working around the clock to find the convicts. The agencies have established a command post in Garland, a suburb east of Dallas.

``It is a massive manhunt and one of the largest in recent history,'' Todd said.

The fugitives are likely to have changed their appearances through facial hair or disguises, Todd said, but are believed to be together. Additional photos of the escapees, some obtained from family members, have been posted on the TDCJ Website.

``If they had separated, we feel there would have been contact or sightings,'' Todd said. ``If an inmate is working alone, he's more likely to make a mistake. By working together, they remain elusive.''

Officials are looking for two late-model, four-door cars that may have been used in the Dallas area by the inmates. They are a Toyota Camry and a Honda Accord. One is black and one is silver, but authorities are uncertain which car is which color.

Officials attribute the group's cohesiveness to George Rivas, 30, who had been serving a life sentence for aggravated robbery and kidnapping.

Todd said Rivas, believed to be the group's ringleader, ``is very street smart and has dealt with police over a number of years.''

FBI spokeswoman Lori Bailey said it is surprising the group has stuck together.

``It's highly unusual. It's illogical,'' she said. ``It leads everyone to think these guys have a plan. They've demonstrated their disregard for life and law enforcement.''

The escaped convicts _ two convicted killers, two armed robbers, a child abuser, a serial rapist and a burglar _ have avoided capture for three weeks since breaking out of the TDCJ's Connally Unit at Kenedy. They are being sought on capital murder arrest warrants for the Christmas Eve robbery of an Oshman's sporting goods store in Irving.

Officer Aubrey Hawkins was shot and killed when he arrived at the scene.

The gang may be monitoring police activity through scanners stolen from a Houston area Radio Shack two days after their escape.

``That does provide an advantage for them,'' Todd said. ``They are using patience and diligence. Our law enforcement must be equally as patient and diligent.''

State troopers, sheriff's deputies and local police agencies are being extremely cautious when making traffic stops or responding to calls, officials said.

``It's making an already dangerous job more dangerous,'' said DPS spokesman Tom Vinger. ``Clearly, each individual has a higher awareness of what's going on.''

``The tension is really, really thick,'' said Dallas County Sheriff Investigator Don Peritz Jr. ``Hey, we're not resting until these guys are caught. They're likely to go anywhere or do anything. Any call could be the call.''

The gang has amassed an arsenal of weapons. Even after stealing 14 handguns, a semiautomatic rifle, a loaded shotgun and ammunition in their escape, the convicts added 25 weapons and still more ammunition to their arsenal with the Oshman's robbery.

Although prison officials have dismissed the possibility that the escaped convicts participated in a robbery Sunday of a fireworks stand in south Dallas County near Hutchins, Peritz said his agency has not ruled that out.

The stand was robbed by three men who brandished weapons and said they ``were not going back to prison.'' Two employees sleeping inside were tied up but not injured. The bandits got away with money, a pistol, fireworks and a pickup truck.

Irving Police Chief Lowell Cannaday said his officers are resolved to find the men charged with killing their fellow officer.

``It's a very devastating experience for our police officers and it's taking its toll,'' he said. ``Detectives and all of our officers are very much interested in what's going on _ working as hard as they can around the clock to try to make sure that we catch these men.''

A $100,000 reward has been offered for the arrest and indictment of the seven.

Callers who have information should immediately call a hot line number set up for the manhunt. DPS troopers are staffing telephones 24 hours a day at the agency's Dallas-Fort Worth area headquarters on Interstate 30 in Garland. Information will be forwarded to agencies whose personnel are working the case out in the field.

Cellular customers should dial 911 and try to have specific information about location or license plate numbers. Callers also can dial (214) 861-2386 or (800) 737-8143.

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