Arrest warrants for both men had not yet been received. Police collect warrants in person from the court and bring them back to the police station for officers to carry out, he said.
The Department of Corrections was this morning making inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the men's disappearance but was unable to provide any detail on when and why the men were released or when they were supposed to return.
More information was expected to be made available later today.
In court yesterday, Tony Balme, the lawyer representing Morris and Mark Harris, told Judge Robert Spear the Harris brothers had been granted bail to attend a tangi and failed to return to Waikeria Prison.
Said Judge Spear: "Technically they are escaped prisoners. There is no other way to describe it."
Mr Balme asked for another hearing date to be set, revealing that negotiations had been going on about "apportioning responsibility" over who would plead guilty to what.
"I think it is resolvable but we need all three men here [together in court]," he said.
That could not happen until the Harris brothers were either arrested or gave themselves up.
Judge Spear remanded the three accused in custody until mid-January for a new status hearing.
"I've never struck that before," he said, when deciding what to do about the two no longer behind bars.
"I'm not sure if that [the remand in custody] is entirely the right way to deal with it but I can't think what else to do."
The counts faced by the trio include aggravated assault on police officers, theft, unlawfully getting into and taking a motor vehicle, failing to stop, reckless driving and resisting arrest.
Meanwhile, Douglas Morris - who did appear in court yesterday - is due in court again next week for a pre-trial hearing on a second set of unrelated charges, including burglary and blackmail.
