HIGH POINT, N.C. -- Authorities say a man in handcuffs stole the patrol car he was in when the deputy had to respond to an emergency call in North Carolina.

Guilford County Sheriff's spokesman Randy Powers said a series of unusual events led to 31-year-old Carl ``Preston'' Davis stealing the car Thursday night.

Powers says a deputy arrested Davis on a second-degree kidnapping charge, handcuffed his hands behind him and put him in the front seat because the spare patrol car he was using had no divider.

Powers says the officer then had to respond to a breaking-and-entering call because he was the only deputy in the area.

Powers told media outlets when the deputy left the car, Davis slipped his handcuffed hands in front of him and drove off. He hasn't been found.