HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Law enforcement officials are searching for a man accused of kidnapping and battering a woman in Hillsborough County Tuesday afternoon.
The Florida Highway Patrol said they received reports around 2 p.m. from a caller who witnessed an altercation between the man and victim, 27, while they were traveling west on I-4 in a Kia sedan from Polk County to Hillsborough.
The witness told FHP the victim was yelling for help and trying to leave the car.
Troopers saw the car on I-4, but it fled from an attempted traffic stop. The driver exited the interstate multiple times, reversed, and even drove west in the eastbound lanes. The troopers lost track of the car when it reversed a final time and exited onto US-92.
Soon after, troopers found the victim at a gas station at US-92 and Orient Road with minor injuries, a result of her being battered by the suspect.
FHP said the victim claimed the suspect was driving her car from Orlando when a "financial dispute" occurred, leading to the witnessed altercation.
The victim's car was later found abandoned at the Hard Rock Casino. Troopers then learned the suspect, nicknamed "Cash," was picked up by another driver and taken to an unknown location.
Anyone with information regarding the suspect’s identity and location should call *FHP (*347) or Crime Stoppers at **TIPS.
