DENVER -- There are now conflicting reports that a suspect accused of shooting a University of Colorado student escaped from jail by switching clothes with another inmate. That initial report was published in a newspaper in Mexico.

It said a guard on duty accidentally released 30-year-old Alfonso Ramirez Sastre Friday morning after he apparently swapped clothing with a cellmate.

Now the Associated Press is reporting a Mexican judge, his secretary and two jail employees are under investigation for the escape.

Local prosecutor Guillermo Martin Diaz said the four may have played an active role in helping Alfonso Ramirez walk out of a Puerto Vallarta jail early Friday.

Diaz said officials want to know why the judge issued a release order and the two jail employees let Ramirez go, all before dawn.

The two jail employees are in jail. Officials are looking for the judge and his secretary.

Sastre was arrested with another man, Daniel Vargas Castaneda, by Mexican police on suspicion that they shot and killed David Parrish.

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico said 21-year-old Parrish was shot when two men tried to rob him Wednesday.

Parrish's mother, Janet Graaf, was reportedly with him at the time of the shooting and said that her son tried to stop the men from taking her purse. Graaf is an instructor at CU's business school.

Dennis Ahlburg, dean of the Leeds School of Business at CU, told 7NEWS reporter Lane Lyon Sunday, Parrish was a "wonderful young man."

Ahlburg said Parrish shared his mother's interest in developing countries. Graaf is from South Africa and chose to spend the week of Spring Break with her son, according to Ahlburg.

"That says a lot about her, about him, and about their relationship," Ahlburg continued. "They are a wonderful family."

A Puerto Vallarta transit employee saw the shooting take place from a public bus and assisted the victim, according to the police spokeswoman. The woman alerted police, who apprehended the suspects in their car.

Ramirez struck up a friendship with his cellmate, who was arrested for allegedly robbing a bottle of wine, the spokeswoman said. Ramirez then offered the man about $5,000 to swap identities.

Municipal authorities suspended a local public safety director and questioned nine police officers in connection with the jail break, said a second police spokesman who also couldn't be named.

Fellow CU students were just learning of Parrish's death Sunday as they returned to campus from their week-long break.

"It's horrible, trying to do something fun and having it end up so tragically," said Peter Eichar.

A family friend told 7NEWS funeral arrangements are still being made.

Parrish graduated from Boulder High in 2005 and was studying geography at CU, according to school records. He grew up in Boulder. His sister also graduated from Boulder High, and his parents still live here, reported the Daily Camera.

Parrish's parents, who also live in Boulder, declined comment.

"It's an absolute tragedy," said CU spokesman Bronson Hilliard. "It's a huge loss for our community."

CU and Boulder High counselors will be ready Monday to talk with teachers and students.

Parrish was on Boulder High's tennis team all of his four years there. His former coach, Gale Howard, told the Camera Friday he was stunned to hear about the death of his former player who "didn't have a mean bone in him."

"This is the worst thing I've ever heard," Howard said. "This is such a loss."

Jailbreaks are relatively common in Mexico, even in maximum-security prisons.

Mexico's most-wanted drug lord, alleged Sinaloa drug cartel chief Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, escaped from federal prison in 2001 in a laundry cart by bribing guards.

Popular Mexico vacation spots such as Acapulco, Cancun and Baja California have seen an uptick in violence and crime in recent years -- in some cases, hurting tourism.