Tulsa Woman Warns Of Gas Pump Purse Snatcher

In the midst of the busy holiday shopping season, one woman has a warning before you fill up your gas tank.

She says don't turn your back on your car. 

It's a lesson she learned the hard way.

She said it all happened so fast. One second she's pumping gas, the next second her bag is gone.

Detectives hope surveillance video will bring in tips that will point them to the thieves. 

It's a brazen crime caught on camera.

As the woman pumped gas at the QuikTrip at 101st and Memorial, a man snuck out of the car next to hers, opens the driver side door and snatches her purse - all in a matter of seconds. 

The victim, Lynn Goodrich, was completely unaware.

"It was 4:30 on a Friday afternoon, one of the busiest times to be out here and it was amazing that nobody noticed," Goodrich said. 

It's a crime so common, the crooks even have a nickname - "sliders" because they slide up to cars just out of view, boldly plucking purses from behind unlocked doors.

"Things like this seem to happen more and more often, we just can't be too careful," she said. 

And she's right. Tulsa Police say these types of crimes are up during the holiday season. 

"Burglaries from vehicles, larcenies, burglaries from your home right now are kind of out of control there's been a lot of them," said Officer Jeanne Mackenzie.

So, be sure to lock your doors, police say there's no telling how many of these crooks are just sliding by. 

"I generally do lock my doors while I get gas, but in the last month I've been complacent and I haven't done that. I will not do that anymore," she said. 

Police said two other businesses in the area were hit in the same fashion, possibly by the same suspects. If you know anything about this crime, you're asked to call Crime Stoppers.