STROUD TOWNSHIP – One purse was taken, a short time after another woman refused to let go of her purse.  Both incidents happened within a 15-minute period late Friday morning.  The suspects and getaway vehicles have similar descriptions.

The first incident happened about 10:50 in the parking lot at Lowe’s, in the Crossroads Plaza on Route 611.  The woman, loading items into her car, saw the man coming.  When he grabbed the purse, she refused to let go, and was dragged a short distance before the suspect gave up and ran off toward a newer model gray car.

That suspect is described as a white male, 5’10” to 6’ tall, with reddish blond hair.

The second incident happened about 11:05, at the Panera Bread, also on Route 611.  This time, a suspect of similar description, grabbed a purse from an outdoor table and fled in a newer gray Saturn, with a Weichert Realtors sticker on the front bumper. 

That suspect is also white, about 6’, freckles, light reddish hair, wearing a blue shirt with white stripes, blue shirt, and a white baseball cap.  The driver of the vehicle is a white heavy-set male with dark hair.

Anyone with information on either incident is asked to call police at 570-421-6800.