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Woman uses three kids to steal purse from local restaurant
By Luke Duecy
Published: Jul 3, 2015 at 4:41 PM PDT Last Updated: Jul 3, 2015 at 6:38 PM PDT



FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- Police are looking for a woman and three young kids who worked together to steal a purse from a Federal Way restaurant Tuesday night.

Surveillance video inside the Jasmine Mongolian Grill shows a woman with three children walking up to the cashier counter. As the woman talks to the hostess, one of her kids jumps on the counter, which police believe may have been a tactic to district the employee.

While the hostess is focusing on the woman and child on the counter, the two other children walk around the restaurant and eventually find an unattended purse. The boy snatches the purse and heads for the door, but before he leaves he walks to the adult woman and pokes her, which may have been a signal that the mission was accomplished.

"I thought no way, no way this family could have taken that purse," said victim Lorena Glidewell.

Glidewell was at the restaurant with her husband Travis, and neither can believe a child would make off with the purse.

"They were behind us," Glidewell said. "I remember seeing them in line when I was going to my table and I didn't think of anything."

Police say they've seen crimes like this before, but don't have many leads to go on. They presume the thieves are a family, but they have no way to tell for sure.

The woman used a stolen debit card to buy gas before Lorena cancelled the card.