PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the theft of $10,000 from a purse on a car seat.
The vehicle of an elderly couple moving to the Port Angeles area from Louisiana was broken into west of Port Angeles on Sunday afternoon.
Sgt. Randy Pieper said the thief smashed the window of the couple’s Hyundai SUV and stole the purse, which had the money, and the GPS from the vehicle.
“It’s a shame,” he said.
The couple went hiking on the Olympic Discovery Trail near the Elwha River Bridge on state Highway 112 Sunday after- noon. When they returned, they found their vehicle had been broken into.
Others in the parking lot were untouched, Pieper said.
He said the money was in $20 and $100 bills. A trail of coins leading from the car toward the highway “looked like the suspects got in a car and left,” he said.
The couple was in the process of transferring funds to a local bank, he said.
At this point the Sheriff’s Office has no leads on who might have done it, he said.
“We didn’t get much of anything for evidence,” he said. “Whoever it was drove up, saw the purse and GPS and broke in and snatched it and took off.”
Pieper is urging people to not leave valuables in their vehicles and is asking anyone with information about the theft to contact the Sheriff’s Office by calling 360-417-2262.
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
