The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office was searching for a possible tiger Thursday night after receiving a call about someone seeing a "large cat."
According to officials, they received a call around 7 p.m. that someone in Myakka City spotted a large cat, possibly a tiger, near Crosby Road.
Deputies and the Florida Wildlife Commission responded, but have not located or spotted any large cats despite aerial and ground searches.
The FWC released the following statement:
The FWC, along with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, is investigating reports received by MCSO this evening of multiple large cats in Myakka City. Officers from both agencies have responded to the area to conduct searches and captive wildlife investigators are checking captive wildlife facilities in the region to determine if any large cats have escaped. At this time, this report is unconfirmed, but if anyone sees any large cats in the area, do not approach, get indoors and call 911 or FWC’s Wildlife Alert hotline at 888-404-3922.
Anyone who has information is asked to call either the MCSO or FWC.
This is a developing story. Refresh for updates.