Mom's Purse Snatched From Car at Parkway School

She was gone for perhaps a few minutes. And that's all it took.

A Plainview woman's purse was taken from the front seat of her parked car in the minutes it took her to pick up her young child from the on Tuesday.

The woman, who asked not to be identified, told that she parked her car outside the Parkway School Tuesday about 4 p.m. as usual to pick up her child. She returned moments later with her child.

While she took the car keys with her, she said she didn't lock the car.

The thief moved swiftly. He was in and out of the car and disappeared with her purse before she returned. The woman said she was gone no longer than three minutes.

"It is extremely frightening and disheartening that this happened steps away from where my children were and no one noticed," the woman told Patch. "All of my belongings were taken and my credit cards used within an hour of being stolen."

The thief used her credit cards to buy gas at a local service station and then purchased items from a Hicksville retailer, all within an hour of the theft. The woman noticed one person in the lot who she didn't recognize but her suspicions were not aroused, she said.

She didn't notice the purse was gone until after returning home. She returned to the school and contacted police, filing a police report.

said they are investigating the incident.

The woman shared her story out of concern for the community. Her husband recounted the same story to members of theon Wednesday.

"Please make the community aware of this," she said.