Sunny Isles Beach Police are looking for a female purse snatcher who was caught on tape stealing an elderly woman's bag at a Publix supermarket.
The incident happened on Sept. 29 at the store at 18330 Collins Avenue, police said Monday.
Police say the suspect approached the woman and engaged her in small talk about produce, as if they knew each other. With the elderly woman's guard down, the suspect grabbed the purse from the victim's shopping cart and took off, police said.
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The incident was captured on the store's surveillance video system.
The snatcher got away with about $500 in cash and several credit cards, which she immediately used at a nearby Walgreen's to buy cigarettes and gift cards, Sunny Isles Beach Police spokesman Sgt. Brian Schnell said.
"This time of year, this type of crime increases," Schnell said, warning shoppers to keep close tabs on their belongings in stores with the holidays approaching.
The suspect is described as a white female in her mid to late 50s. She left the scene in a white, two-door older model Mercedes.
Anyone with information is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.
