A manhunt that lasted several hours in southeast Putnam County on Wednesday, Feb. 22, yielded the arrest of one man, but he was not the subject of the manhunt, authorities say.
Putnam County Sheriff's Office continues to search for a man who attempted a “strong-arm carjacking,” Sheriff Howard Sills said.
Shortly before 1 p.m., a Putnam woman was driving home and was stopped by a man who “popped out of the woods when she turned from Crooked Creek Road onto Steel Bridge Road,” Sills said.
The man did not brandish a weapon but grabbed the woman’s shoulder and tried to pull her out of the vehicle.
“But she fought back and she hit his hand that was holding the car door with a flashlight and wounded it. He ran off back into the woods,” Sills said.
The victim drove to her house. Authorities were called, and a manhunt began.
Deputies stopped a man whose clothing fit the description of the perpetrator, but it was not him, Sills said. However, the man was arrested on charges unrelated to the carjacking. He was charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana and the manhunt continued.
Sills said they are searching for a Black male, age 35 to 40, tall with a slim build. He was last seen getting into a red four-door Chevrolet sedan at Terry’s One Stop on Scuffleboro Road and leaving.
Anyone with information on this incident should call Putnam County Sheriff's Office at 706-485-8557.