Taxi cab found, but armed robber still on the loose after getting ride to Bradenton from Sarasota

Cab found but armed robber still on the loose after getting ride to Bradenton

BRADENTON -- A taxi cab involved in a armed carjacking at 8:30 p.m. Saturday was found Sunday in the parking lot of the Marriott hotel at the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport.

But authorities were still looking for suspect Sunday evening.

The crime began when a 58-year-old cab driver driving a yellow 2000 Chevrolet Malibu owned by Sarasota cab was robbed at gunpoint by a man who had asked to be taken from a Sarasota restaurant to an East Bradenton address, according to a Manatee County Sheriff's Office release.

The cab driver had been flagged down by the suspect in front of Mattison's City Grille, 1 N. Lemon Ave., Sarasota, the release states.

The suspect asked for a ride to Bradenton, and the driver prorated the ride and charged the suspect's credit card before making the drive to the 3300 block of 56th Terrace East in Bradenton, the release said.

Police said the suspect then stated he had a gun and demanded the driver give him his wallet, cell phone and the taxi cab.

The driver complied and exited the vehicle, and the suspect fled north in the taxi.

An attempt to locate the vehicle with the cab company's GPS system was unsuccessful. The GPS did not appear to be functioning and showed the vehicle at a Sarasota location for the previous eight hours, police said.

An attempt to track the vehicle with the victim's iPhone also failed because the victim was unable to remember his log in credentials, police said.

The suspect is described by authorities as a white male, about 30 years of age with short black hair. He is about 5-foot-7 and 170 pounds.

This story was originally published February 7, 2016 at 12:06 PM with the headline "Taxi cab found, but armed robber still on the loose after getting ride to Bradenton from Sarasota ."