BAG-SNATCHER GETS BIG HAUL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18805, 6 July 1929, Page 2

BAG-SNATCHER GETS BIG HAUL.

MRS M. C. KEANE VICTIM OF IMPUDENT THEFT; BAG CONTAINED £l7. A thief, who snatched the handbag of Mrs M. C. Keane at the corner of Clare Road and Papanui Road last evening, gained a big haul, for the bag contained the sum of £l7 10s. The thief escaped. The theft was a particularly brazen one. Mrs Keane was waiting for a tram to take her into town, about eight o’clock last evening, when she felt some one touch her arm. Thinking it was a friend she turned, and as she did so a man, who stood behind her, snatched at the hand-bag she was carrying. She struggled to retain her hold, and called for help. The man was too strong, however, and, wrenching the bag away, ran off down the street. Mrs Keane ran after him, but he was too fast for her, and escaped. Mrs Keane had a good look at the man, and from her description it is expected that he will soon be traced. He was a medium-sized man, and welldressed. The street is well lighted at this corner, and as it is a tram-stop there are usually a few people waiting there. Last night it was deserted, however, and the thief evidently acted on the spur of the moment. It is unusual for Mrs Keane to carry such a sum in her purse. She had drawn the money during the day to pay some bills, and was carrying it in her bag in preference to leaving it at her home.