CANYON CITY – Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer says a man sought in a child rape case is likely headed for Tennessee or Florida, where he has a girlfriend.

Police issued an alert for information on the whereabouts of John Edward Williams Jr., 36, on Friday. A Canyon City residents, he is wanted in connection with rape and kidnap crimes involving a 12-year-old girl.

Palmer said his office first were notified of the crimes on Wednesday, Aug. 24. He believes Williams was on the road by 4 p.m. that day, headed out of state.

“He knows we’re after him,” Palmer said.

He said Williams has called relatives in Grant County since then, borrowing cell phones from people he meets on the road and giving false information about his whereabouts. He said Williams told one relative he was in Burns, but Palmer later traced the call back to Baker City.

On Friday, the manager of a McDonald’s in Limon, Colo., said Williams borrowed a phone to make a call, again to relatives. Palmer said that call was made between 9:30 and 10 a.m., and Williams was reported to be headed for Kansas City.

Palmer said that Williams has shaved his head and is wearing a goatee, a different look than in a booking photo released on Friday that dates back about a year.

Palmer said Williams is related to the victim in the case, and that police believe there may be more than one incident involved.