CAPE CORAL, Fla. - A man who was carrying guns and stole a van is still on the loose in Cape Coral.

For a carpenter like Frank Almas, in this economy, a day with work is a good day. Tuesday was one of those days until he stepped outside.

"So I come out and look and I said, well, damn, my van's gone," said Almas.

His tools were inside, and he called police.

"The officer was here, nice guy, took the report. He called about half an hour later or so and said he had found the van."

Five blocks away, police stopped the van in the driveway of a vacant home. According to reports, police approached the van thinking the driver was still inside, but when they got to the driver's side window, he had already escaped.

Police say the suspect is a 5-foot-7 white male between 22and 28. He was wearing a black t-shirt and blue jeans. Police say he stole a bike from a nearby home and rode away.

K-9 units were called, but the trail ended near Lenny Mchugh's house.

"You don't want that stuff going on around here, what are you going to do, people are crazy these days," said Mchugh.

Police say the thief was carrying guns. One shotgun and four handguns were found in the van, which was otherwise empty.

"They found an extra set of keys which I had forgot all about probably when I first bought the van," said Almas.

Police confiscated the guns, but Almas' two thousand dollars worth of tools were gone.

"I'm going to have to buy them one tool at a time...one tool at a time, hopefully insurance will take care of it, homeowners won't," said Almas. "It sucks, excuse me, that's the truth."