UPDATE (6/6) -- The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office reports that this stolen Jeep has been located in Manatee County off of I-75.
Their investigation remains ongoing.
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PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — Milan Fiser stopped by the Racetrac on Kings Highway and Sandhill Blvd Wednesday afternoon for what he thought was going to be a quick trip. So, he left his Jeep running. But what happened next took him by surprise.
“As I was walking out, my Jeep was gone,” said Fiser. “I thought at first somebody was playing a joke on me or something, and pulled it around the side of the building.”
Fiser’s wife Tammy left work early and rushed over to help. “I could hear the panic in his voice, and so I started to panic myself,” she said.
FIser then saw his Jeep with his Remax logo and face on it, speeding away from deputies on Sandhill.
Lt. Jon Waterhouse with Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office said Fiser’s face on the Jeep made it easy to track down. “That’s why it was so easy to spot it when they came around the corner,” he said.
CCSO said three men stole the Jeep. and when deputies tried to pull them over, they led them on a chase. And Waterhouse said that’s when it got dangerous. “They jumped the curb there, ran a red light and struck a vehicle,” he said.
The driver of the Kia Soul that was struck walked away with minor scratches but her car is pretty banged up. CCSO said it was pouring raining when they were chasing the suspects. So, to avoid hurting more people, deputies ended it. Waterhouse said the suspects kept driving on I-75 towards North Port.
Fiser’s phone and wallet with all his credit cards were also in the Jeep, but he’s just hoping no one else gets hurt. “The vehicle can be replaced, but I just hope that it doesn’t cause any harm to anybody at this time,” he said.
The good news is he has a tracking device on the Jeep, and it was last seen in Bradenton. As of Wednesday night deputies are working to track down the suspects.
