Local thieves are finding baskets of opportunity to steal from local shoppers.
Two victims have come to the attention of RCMP, one robbed on Saturday and one on Sunday, at two separate retail outlets in Prince George.
"In the first case, the victim had placed her purse in a hand basket and set the basket down for a moment, while retrieving an item from the shelf. Upon return, the victim found her purse was gone," said Prince George RCMP spokesman Cpl. Craig Douglass. "In the second report, a wallet was removed from a shopping cart at a different retailer. The victim realized her wallet was gone when she went to the checkout."
In both cases, the thief snatched the wallet or purse without the victim seeing anyone who stood out as suspicious.
"The similarity of the two cases leads us to believe it may be the work of the same person, but not necessarily," said Douglass. "It appears there may be someone targeting that sort of situation, looking for that kind of opportunity."
The Prince George RCMP would like to remind the public not to leave personal items in shopping carts or baskets. It is always a good idea to keep cash, credit cards and identification on your person.
If you have any information about property crime in Prince George, please contact the Prince George RCMP at (250)561-3300 or anonymously contact Crime Stoppers at 1(800)222-TIPS (8477), online at www.pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca, or Text-A-Tip to CRIMES using keyword "pgtips".
