SEATAC, Wash. — A Seattle-Tacoma International Airport spokesman says a man wanted in Snohomish County ran from police as he was preparing to board a flight at the airport, raced through restricted areas, and then fled in a van stolen from a TV production company.

Police found the van later in suburban Tukwila, but the man had vanished.

Airport spokesman Perry Cooper says Port of Seattle police had received a tip that a man sought on an assault warrant planned to board a Southwest Airlines flight on Tuesday. Police tried to snag the man before he boarded the plane, but he bolted through an emergency exit, ran down a ramp outside near the aircraft, through the baggage claim area and then back outside. There he hopped into a rental van being loaded by employees of a cable television show called "The Locator" — and off he went.

KIRO reports that port police continue to search for the fugitive.