SEATAC, Wash. -- A man fled from police as he was preparing to board a flight at Sea-Tac Airport, ran through restricted areas, and then fled in a stolen van, a Sea-Tac Airport spokesman said.

Police received a tip that Trent Jay Lee, an assault suspect with a felony warrant in Everett, was flying to Houston on a Southwest Airlines flight Tuesday afternoon, Sea-Tac spokesman Perry Cooper said.

When officers tried to intercept Lee before he boarded the plane, he bolted through an emergency exit near gate B-12, ran down a ramp onto the tarmac, through the baggage claim area and then back outside to the arrivals pickup area.

Lee then hopped into a rental van being used by a TV production company and fled the area.

Police said a witness followed the van, but lost it before the van entered Interstate 5.

Police found the abandoned van in Tukwila with its doors broken off from hitting nearby cars.

Port Of Seattle police are searching for Lee.