Handcuffed Houdini Pulls Off Disappearing Act In LAPD SUV Near The Magic Castle

HOLLYWOOD, CA — A woman remains at large Tuesday after stealing a police cruiser, leading officers on a brief chase and abandoning the vehicle in the Hollywood Hills — all while wearing handcuffs, according to police.

The ordeal began near Franklin and Orchid avenues, near the Magic Castle in Hollywood, where the woman was with a man she had met about a week prior. The man — who declined to be interviewed on camera by Fox 11 — told a reporter that the woman "went crazy on him" when he rejected her request to buy her alcohol.

That's when she took out a knife and began smashing the windshield of the man's Porsche SUV. She also slashed two of its tires. A security guard who was nearby called police, Fox 11 reported.

Police arrived and handcuffed the woman just before 11:50 p.m. Monday and placed her in the back of a cruiser, according to a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman.

Somehow, the handcuffed suspect stole the marked police SUV. Police chased behind the cruiser on foot, but were unable to catch up to her, police said.

Officers canvassed the area and later found the abandoned police vehicle near the intersection of Camrose Drive and Paramount Drive, in the hills above Yamashiro restaurant, police said.

Police believe the woman — who is described as petite — slipped her handcuffed limbs under her legs and climbed through a small window in the partition that separates the front of the cruiser from the back, Fox 11 reported.

The woman was described as approximately 35 years old, wearing a gray Raiders hoodie and jeans, and was last seen running away from the area where the stolen cruiser was found, according to a report from the scene.

An LAPD officers said the suspect was still on the loose as of 7 a.m. Tuesday.

City News Service contributed to this report.