FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Fort Lauderdale police are searching for at least two thieves who stole a purse Monday from an unlocked SUV that was parked outside a day care.
The victim said she left her purse in her SUV when she went inside the New River Child Care Learning Center at 120 NW Seventh Ave. to pick up her child.
Surveillance video shows a car backing into the parking spot next to the mother's SUV.
A man then gets out of the front passenger side door, opens the passenger door to the SUV and steals the purse and a lunchbox.
"I think they waited until I got into the building and they just pulled up," Nicole Elizee said. "(They) basically backed in next to my car and then just took it out of my car."
Elizee said her SUV was left unlocked because of a key fob issue. She said she did not immediately realize that her purse had been stolen.
According to Elizee, the thieves tried using her credit card at a nearby Foot Locker to purchase shoes, but she received an alert on her phone about the suspicious activity and she denied the charge.
The victim said she didn't have cash inside her purse, but the thieves got away with her credit cards, ID and textbooks she needed for her finals this week.
"It's crazy. People are desperate. For you to just sit there and stalk someone in the parking lot -- like -- basically taking someone's hard-earned money," Elizee said.
Anyone with further information is asked to call Fort Lauderdale police or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.