Local Briefs June 30, 2011

Purse stolen during church service

COEUR d'ALENE - If a purse isn't safe inside a church, where is it safe?

According to a police report, a woman's purse was stolen during a service at a Coeur d'Alene church on Sunday.

She plays the organ for the church, and set her purse on a counter in the reception area. When the service was over, she noticed her purse was missing.

The woman and church members searched inside and outside the church, but did not find the purse.

A phone valued at $200, car keys worth $300 and miscellaneous items totaling about $225 were inside the purse.

Employee a suspect in fast-food theft

An employee of a Coeur d'Alene fast-food restaurant failed to show up for work Monday, which in itself might not be unusual.

However, it became a little suspicious when the manager noted that same employee was supposed to deposit the previous day's cash receipts in the bank - and didn't.

According to a Coeur d'Alene police report, the employee left Sunday night with two deposits, one for $942.87, and one for $1,091.22.

Neither made it to the after-hours desposit bin.

When the employee didn't arrive for work Monday, the manager became concerned. He told police it was strange because she "has been a good employee and has been very punctual in the past." He tried to call her and then sent another employee to her home. It was discovered she had moved.

Police are investigating.