TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - A manhunt for the convicted felon accused of

killing two Tampa police officers - and wanted for questioning in

three other homicides - spread to north Florida on Thursday.

Jacksonville sheriff's officers received a tip that Dontae

Rashawn Morris, 24, was in a neighborhood in that city, some 200

miles from where he is accused of gunning down two Tampa patrolmen

early Tuesday morning.

Detectives in north Florida said they didn't find Morris, who

has eluded capture despite an intense search that involves local,

state and federal officers and a $100,000 reward.

In an interview with The Associated Press Thursday, Tampa Police

Chief Jane Castor said she had never worked such a brutal and

emotionally draining case in 26 years with the force.

"I've never seen anything on this scale," she said. "From an

individual that is so cold-blooded and vicious, and also on the

scale of the manhunt. We have close to 200 officers at any given

time searching for him. The fact that we have put that much

consistent pressure on the community and he has been able to stay

below the surface is very surprising to me."

Castor said she believes someone - or several people - are

helping Morris hide, if he isn't dead somewhere. Police are seeking

Morris' brother, 21-year-old Dwayne Daniel Callaway. He was wanted

on two counts of violating probation on a domestic battery charge,

and detectives want to question him about Morris.

The Tampa man's crime spree began, police said, upon his release

from prison on cocaine charges April 4. Morris - who sports tattoos

on his left arm that say "Dead," "Evil" and "Love" - returned

to his hometown of Tampa.

On May 18, a 21-year-old man named Derek Anderson was fatally

shot outside of his family's apartment in Tampa. Detectives thought

the killer tried to take Anderson's backpack, then shot him.

No arrests were made in that case. Morris is also wanted for

questioning in two other homicides in recent months; Castor won't

release details about those.

The chief said officers Jeffrey Kocab and David Curtis knew

nothing about Morris' possible involvement in the other three

homicides when they pulled over the car in which he was riding.

Curtis, originally from Mobile, Ala., was a married father of

four and Kocab's wife is nine months pregnant. On Thursday evening,

their names will be etched into the granite monument dedicated to

fallen Tampa police officers that sits outside headquarters. A wake

is scheduled Friday and the funeral is set for Saturday.

Meanwhile, hundreds of officers clad in full body armor are

combing neighborhoods in Tampa in hopes of finding Morris. On

Wednesday, officers evacuated an entire apartment complex and

searched every unit, while tanks blocked off nearby streets.

"If he's moving about, anything could happen," Castor said.

"It's important for the community to know who we are dealing

with."

Mayor Pam Iorio was frustrated by the long search.

"In the past, when we've had an officer's death, the police

were able to apprehend the killer almost right away. In this case,

now we're going on several days without apprehending him and he's a

cold-blooded killer," she said. "It's been the darkest days of my

time as mayor, every time we have lost an officer, and this one is

absolutely horrific."