Woman tells Spokane Valley child she’s a babysitter before allegedly stealing mother’s purse

Authorities are searching for a woman who reportedly stole a mother’s purse from a Spokane Valley home after telling a child she was there to babysit.

The homeowner told deputies the parents were in the backyard April 22 when their young son yelled “some lady (is) taking mom’s purse,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.

The parents then reportedly ran through their East Broadway home and saw the woman getting in the back seat of a fleeing vehicle. She

The woman reportedly told the child she was there to babysit and walked back toward his parents’ room, the Sheriff’s Office said. She attempted to use a credit card from the purse at multiple locations and was captured on surveillance video.

Anyone that can identify the woman in the surveillance photo is urged to call detective Jeff Thurman at 509-477-3278 and reference No. 10052570.