Authorities are hunting for a prison inmate who bolted from San Quentin and might have carjacked a vehicle in San Rafael.

Shalom Mendoza, who is serving time for attempted carjacking and evading police, was part of a work crew at the prison when he absconded Wednesday.

The prison discovered he was missing during a head count at 9:35 p.m., said prison Lt. Sam Robinson. The last time he had been counted was at 5:55 p.m.

At 9:17 p.m., San Rafael police received a report of a carjacking in the Home Depot parking lot at 111 Shoreline Parkway, which is about a mile from the prison.

“The suspect motioned underneath his shirt, to the victim, as if he had a weapon or gun and then threatened to kill the victim,” said San Rafael police Cpl. James Bellamy. “The suspect demanded the victim’s car keys. Once the suspect took the keys from the victim, he stole her car and fled the scene.”

The victim was not injured. Her description of the carjacker was similar to Mendoza, and she said he was wearing a white T-shirt and khaki or light yellow pants.

Authorities were still looking for the vehicle and Mendoza on Thursday morning. The car is a silver Toyota Rav4 sport utility vehicle with a California license plate number of 6STZ502.

The prison described Mendoza, 24, as 177 pounds and 5-foot-5, Hispanic, with short brown hair and brown eyes. He arrived at San Quentin in April after receiving a five-year sentence in Los Angeles County.