A reward of up to $50,000 is offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the carjacker of a mail carrier's vehicle north of Taos on Wednesday.

A man described as in his mid-20s, 5-foot-6-inches tall, 125 pounds and wearing glasses pulled a female contract-route operator from her pickup at a neighborhood box unit at 1518 Paseo del Pueblo Norte in El Prado about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

"The carjacker, we do not know if he was armed. At this point it was a strong-armed robbery, but we don't know if (a gun) would have been produced if he thought necessary," said Amanda McMurrey of the postal inspection office in Fort Worth, Texas. She said the carrier suffered bruises and scrapes from the incident.

The carjacker was last seen driving the 2004 red Ford Ranger pickup with a red camper top with a white stripe west on U.S. 64. The truck was recovered about 6 p.m. Wednesday about 5 miles east of El Prado at the Arroyos del Norte Elementary School in Arroyo Seco on N.M. 150, where a school event was under way, McMurrey said.

Authorities urge anyone with information about the carjacker or the pickup to call Postal Inspector Lori Hinson at 877-876-2455, option 2, or the New Mexico State Police at 575-758-8879.