Local Crime!

This happened at the grocery story where I do much of my shopping!  

Thief makes off with Girl Scouts' cookie money

The tall, scraggly man sang a funny song about cookies as he walked past Girl Scout Troop 2338 and into a Southeast Portland Fred Meyer store Friday.

There wasn't anything funny about what happened a few minutes later when he left the store on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard.

The man reached down with both hands and grabbed an envelope full of cash Paula Gilmer Purcell had tucked between her leg and her purse.

He got away with more than $500. But he didn't escape unchallenged.

Troop leader Gretchen Isakson, 30, and other bystanders pursued the long-haired man, who appeared to be in his late 20s. The makeshift posse lost the thief, who was almost hit by a car while crossing busy Southeast 39th Avenue, a few blocks from the store.

The sudden, brazen action came near the end of a record-setting sales day for the troop.

Purcell said her daughter, Zhifeng, was stunned and Isakson's daughter, Kiah Roberts started crying as she watched her mother disappear after the tall, skinny guy who stole their hard-earned cash.

But the bad act of one man was outweighed by the generosity of others.

"People were just so wonderful. They were just shoving money at us. They were buying cookies and said, 'Keep the change' or 'here's a couple of bucks.' " Purcell said. And Fred Meyer said it would donate money to cover the loss, Purcell said.

That's good news for Isakson, who is personally liable for the cookies and the sale proceeds, Purcell said.

Troop 2338 will be back in action today, selling cookies at the Safeway store at 4515 S.E. Woodstock Blvd. and Friday at the Fred Meyer store at Southeast 82nd Avenue and Foster Road.