Two women sought in theft of purse in Wal-Mart parking lot

Police have released a surveillance picture of two women they say stole a woman’s purse from a shopping cart in the Wal-Mart parking lot on CT Switzer Sr. Drive.

The woman had put her purse in the child seat of her shopping cart, unloaded her purchases and was sitting in her car on a phone call involving a family emergency, police Officer Michael Wheeler said Monday.

Her purse was in the cart right by her window, he said.

Surveillance footage shows two women push their shopping cart next to the woman’s cart, unload their purchases and one of them removing the purse from the victim’s cart, Wheeler said.

One suspect has red or brown hair and wears glasses. She’s the one shown taking the purse, he said.

The other suspect is heavyset with brown hair.

The stolen purse contained about $90 in cash, medications, identification cards and credit cards, which the owner quickly canceled, Wheeler said.

Anyone with information can call Wheeler at 228-702-3054, the Biloxi Police Department’s criminal investigations division at 228-435-6112, or police dispatchers at 228-392-0641.

Or email the department’s criminal intelligence unit at ciu@biloxi.ms.us or Mississippi Coast Crime Stoppers at mscoastcrimestoppers@gmail.com. Or call Crime Stoppers at 1-877-787-5898.

This story was originally published December 19, 2016 at 5:11 PM with the headline "Two women sought in theft of purse in Wal-Mart parking lot."