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HERRIMAN — Police across five Utah cities are on the hunt for a couple of purse snatchers.
Police said the thieves are circling neighborhoods and looking for open garages before checking the vehicles inside for purses or bags.
However, officers said they believe the suspects’ crimes could be escalating.
Officials with the Bluffdale Police Department released surveillance video of a silver Dodge diesel pickup truck they’re searching for.
In the video, a passenger was seen jumping out of the truck, casually walking up to the garage and then running off with a diaper bag that had a wallet inside.
That happened in Bluffdale on Feb. 10, but similar cases, possibly involving the same truck, have happened in Herriman, Saratoga Springs, Riverton and Lehi.
Herriman resident Lyndsey Hayes said her purse was stolen from her vehicle on Feb. 12.
“I didn’t know if they followed me home that day,” Hayes said. “I didn’t know if they singled me out or were watching me over a time. I had no idea. I felt super violated.”
After the thieves snatched her purse from her SUV, they immediately went to Smith’s Marketplace and tried to charge all her credit cards. Herriman police gave her surveillance images of one of the suspects.
Sunday night, officers in Bluffdale said thieves stole a purse and a Honda Pilot.
There's definitely no purse in my car. The garage is always shut.
–Lyndsey Hayes, Herriman resident
Hayes said she’s learned her lesson but unfortunately, she learned it the hard way.
”There’s definitely no purse in my car, the garage is always shut,” Hayes said. “I mean I don’t even open it to load my kids. Everything is loaded before that garage opens.”
Police said it’s important to remember to keep your garage doors shut. They also asked anyone with information about this crime spree to give them a call.
