University of Utah police are looking for a woman they believe is responsible for the thefts of at least two backpacks from students at the University of Utah bookstore.
On Jan. 10, two students visiting the campus store placed their backpacks inside storage cubby holes in the lobby as they entered the store. When they returned, their backpacks were gone, said University of Utah police Capt. Lynn Mitchell.
The bags were found a short time later abandoned in the women's restroom of the Marriott Center of Dance building next door. One backpack had nothing taken from it while the other was missing a calculator and several flash drives, Mitchell said. The suspect did not take the notebooks or textbooks contained in either bag.
Backpack thefts are nothing new, he said, as thieves know their chances of getting valuable items are good.
"In today's world, backpacks contain everything," Mitchell said. "It used to be the only thing you had in the backpack was textbooks."
Store surveillance video showed a heavier-set woman in her late '50s to early '60s with streaks of silver or gray in her hair and a tan trench coat.