Nationwide manhunt for slay suspect

BUFFALO -- The search for a trauma surgeon and former military weapons expert who disappeared after the shooting death of his ex-girlfriend in a Buffalo hospital escalated into a nationwide manhunt yesterday, with authorities warning law enforcers and the public he could be armed and dangerous.

A pickup order for Timothy Jorden, 49, has been sent to every local, state and federal law enforcement office in the nation, Buffalo Police Commissioner Daniel Derenda said. The search for Jorden, now in its second day, includes officials with the FBI, Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Police were confident Jorden hadn't crossed the border into Canada, but Derenda said they do not know where he is or might be headed.

"He's out there somewhere," Derenda said at a news conference.

The search for Jorden began Wednesday morning when 33-year-old Jacqueline Wisniewski was found shot to death in a stairwell at the Erie County Medical Center, where she and Jorden both worked.

All four vehicles registered to Jorden have been accounted for, Derenda said.

Jorden, who has been licensed to practice medicine in New York for a decade, has served as a role model for black youths in Buffalo, people who know him told the Buffalo News.

Betty Jean Grant, chairwoman of the Erie County Legislature, told the newspaper she watched Jorden grow up and never knew him to get into any trouble. "It's tragic that a doctor who saved countless lives might be accused of taking someone else's life," she said.

Police say Wisniewski was shot four times. Derenda said the shooting wasn't a random act, and media reports say Wisniewski was Jorden's ex-girlfriend.