Maurice Clemmons, Suspect in Washington Police Murders, Not Found in Surrounded House

Police announced that Maurice Clemmons, wanted for the ambush murders of four police officers at a coffee house in Lakewood, Washington, was not found in the suburban Seattle home they had surrounded late Sunday night.When SWAT teams entered the home this morning, he was not there. Authorities say there were indications that he had been in or around the house, but had slipped away.

The manhunt has extended now to searching surrounding houses, and a nearly elementary school has been closed. The University of Washington emailed and texted students after an unconfirmed report that Clemmons might have gotten off a bus on or near the campus, which is approximately three miles north of the home police staked out last night.

There is a warrant out on Clemmons on four counts of murder. A $100,000 reward for information leading to his arrest has been increased to $125,000.

Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said Clemmons' whereabouts are not known, but that he may still be in the area police staked out overnight. Troyer says he has confirmed reports that Clemmons had been shot in the torso and may well be dead.

Troyer told Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America that Clemmons is their "number one suspect" and the only man authorities are looking at in the killings. Troyer also told GMA that Clemmons had told acquaintances the night before to "watch the news" the next day because he was going to "kill a bunch of cops." No one took him seriously, and they did not report his remarks to police. Police have recovered the murder weapon, a semi-automatic handgun. Near the coffee house, police also found a cut-off tracking device that Clemmons was required to wear after his recent release on bail on child rape charges.

In the same interview, Troyer questioned why Clemmons was out of jail. Troyer strongly defended the Seattle area police, stating that they had arrested him numerous times in the past six months, but he was repeatedly released on bond. He stated that Clemmons should have been in jail in Arkansas, and insinuated that Arkansas' criminal justice had dropped the ball by releasing him, saying "He shouldn't even have been here."

Investigators still have no idea why Clemmons would ambush the four police officers as they worked on their laptops early Sunday morning in the coffee house, catching up on paperwork at the beginning of their shifts.

Sources: AOL News; ABCnews GMA Interview