Man Preys On Praying Elderly Woman
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FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) -- Authorities are searching for a man who preyed on a woman who was praying at a Broward church.
"Obviously he is not one of the holy people who were attending the church since he was going into the church to commit a robbery,"Keyla Concepcion with the Broward Sheriff's Office (BSO) told CBS4's Joan Murray.
Cameras rolled as an 84-year old woman prayed at Our Lady Queen of Heaven church with her purse beside her on December 20th, around 1:30 p.m.
That's when a man walked in and sat behind her, scanning the room.
Moments later, he got back up and walked out of the church but after a few seconds returned.
From there, he walked straight towards the woman, stealthily pulled her purse off the seat and rushed out.
The woman noticed someone had just taken her purse and walked out after him, but the man had already left.
"We're talking about an 84-year old lady. Obviously, she couldn't run after him. She walked out and tried her best to try and give our deputies a good description of the man but he obviously got away," said Concepcion.
Deputies said two days later they found her purse at a nearby cemetery. Her money and wallet were missing but her phone and house keys were recovered.
Authorities are asking anyone who recognizes the man to call Broward Crimestoppers at (954) 493 -TIPS.
"Thankfully, we have this awesome video and hopefully someone who sees this out there might be able to identify him," said Concepcion.
When identified, deputies said the man will be facing a charge of grand theft.
