Purse-snatcher seen on camera

Fort Wayne police are looking for help in identifying a robber who snatched a purse from a woman earlier this month downtown.

Shortly before 10 a.m. Sept. 2, the woman was walking near the corner of Fairfield Avenue and Berry Street, police said.

The woman, 38, stopped to look at a snail on the sidewalk when a man approached her from behind, grabbed her purse and fled east, police said.

The woman did not report any injuries. Detectives found her purse and wallet nearby, but her cash was missing, police said.

The robber was described as a black man, who is about 5-foot-8 and has a dark complexion.

A surveillance camera image released by police Friday shows the man walking on a sidewalk wearing shorts and no shirt. To see the image, which was too grainy to be reprinted, click on this story at www.journalgazette.net.

Police believe the man may frequent the downtown area.

Anyone who recognizes him is asked to call the Fort Wayne Police Department at 427-1222 or Crime Stoppers at 436-7867.