A handcuffed suspect escaped from San Jose police Wednesday afternoon by stealing a police van while his arresting officer was doing paperwork, police said.

Anthony Sanchez, 32, of San Jose was arrested for outstanding warrants at about 3:30 p.m., police spokesman Sgt. Jason Dwyer said. He was handcuffed and was being held in an unmarked San Jose police minivan.

While the arresting officer was standing near the van and distracted by paperwork, Sanchez managed to get his handcuffs around to his front, hop into the van's driver's seat and drive away.

Police located the van about two hours later near Almaden Expressway and Wren Drive but Sanchez was not found. There were no weapons in the van and nothing was stolen from it, Dwyer said.

The suspect remains at large Thursday.