PARRISH, Fla. – Florida police on Sunday issued a warrant for a man suspected of kidnapping a 13-year-old boy at gunpoint in an apparent ransom attempt, police said.
The man, whom authorities identified as Vicente Ignacio Beltran-Moreno, 22, is Mexican. He is wanted in connection with the Friday morning kidnapping of Clay Moore from a school bus stop in Parrish, Fla. Moore was able to escape several hours later.
"This was an absolute kidnapping for ransom," Manatee County Sheriff Charlie Wells said at a press conference Sunday morning.
"We have been able to positively conclude that this was an out-and-out kidnapping and that the person wanted money in exchange for Clay Moore."
Click here for FOXNews.com's Crime center.
Authorities said Beltran-Moreno is a former migrant worker at the farm where Moore was ultimately found. Police believe Beltran-Moreno, most recently employed with an aluminum contractor, has fled Florida.
"I think we do have a sporting chance to bring him back to Manatee County and have him stand trial for this crime," Wells said.
A judge signed an arrest warrant Sunday for the man they believe kidnapped the teen, Manatee County sheriff's spokesman Dave Bristow said. The sheriff did not release a photo of the suspect but said it was a good likeness to a police sketch released earlier.
Authorities executed a search warrant on one location early Sunday morning and recovered a rough draft of a ransom note, Wells said.
"The ransom note is at least a ransom note that was prepared to be given to someone or it was a practice ransom note, but we have fitted it to this case and it absolutely pertains to the motive for the abduction of Clay Moore," Wells said.
Early Friday morning, Clay was ordered to get into a red Ford Ranger, bound and taken to a wooded rural area about 20 miles away. Clay freed himself after he was left alone and then walked until he found a farm worker with a cell phone.
Authorities said Clay was chosen at random. They believe Beltran-Moreno planned to keep Clay tied up in the wooded area until the ransom was met.
"Obviously what threw everything into a spin was when the kid escaped," Wells said.
Wells credited the teen's keen eye for detail with breaking the case.
"He was extremely helpful and observant during that short time that he was with this suspect, and he gave us valuable information and he was right on the money with the information that he gave us," Wells said. "So for a 13-year-old kid, he was extremely courageous, and he provided us with valuable, valuable information as to how to solve this case."
"The bottom line: This man kidnapped the wrong kid."
Parrish is about 30 miles southeast of St. Petersburg. The bus stop where the abduction occurred was at the entrance to a subdivision off a rural road in eastern Manatee County.
FOXNews.com's Sara Bonisteel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox