Police searching for cat that escaped carrier at JFK airport

April 22 (UPI) -- Port Authority police in New York are searching for a cat that broke out of its carrier while its owner prepared to board a flight to China.

Police shared a photo of an officer searching an elevated structure at John F. Kennedy International Airport near the area where the black and white cat named Pepper is believed to have escaped.

The Port Authority said the cat ran out of the carrier while its owner was checking in for the flight at Terminal 4 on Friday afternoon.

A friend of the cat's owner told the New York Daily News she eventually made the trip to China without the cat.

Port Authority police were unable to find Pepper following an extensive search of the airport on Friday although some travelers reported seeing the cat's tail.

A representative for the Port Authority said police and airport staff remain on the lookout for Pepper in hopes of reuniting the cat with its owner.