Update:
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is suspending the search for the armed carjacking suspect from Bartow who fled from deputies and police officers and shot at a PCSO helicopter earlier today. After an extensive and exhaustive search by law enforcement officers from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Bartow Police Department, Lake Wales Police Department, Florida Highway Patrol, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, it has been determined that the suspect is not inside the search perimeter established after the shooting. Deputies will actively patrol the nearby residential areas overnight.
Area residents are encouraged to maintain caution and call law enforcement if they see or hear anything suspicious. Residents should not answer their doors for anyone they do not know.
Anyone with any information about this suspect is asked to contact the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 863-298-6200 or Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-8477. He is described as a white male in his late 20s or early 30s, unshaven, dark hair graying on the sides, and medium build. He was last seen wearing a red shirt.
