Have you seen either of these women?
While the Manning Police Department understands the photos are hard to see, investigators are looking for the two women pictured. They are described as black females, with one wearing a black hat and light-colored clothing and another with long hair and wearing purple.
The women are wanted for allegedly scamming an 83-year-old woman out of $3,800 last week at the Manning IGA.
Inv. Rick Elms said the woman was shopping in the store between 9:30 and 11 a.m. June 17 when she was approached by a 5-foot-5, 35- to 40-year-old black female wearing a sleeveless sun dress and a black straw hat, along with another shorter black female who was described as heavier and wearing a purplish dress.
"The victim said the female with the hat on said she found a pouch containing a very large sum of money and asked a white guy if he dropped it, but he said no," a report by Sgt. Alexander dukes states. "The victim said the female told her, 'Let's go see a lawyer. Maybe we can keep the money."
The suspects ultimately asked the victim if she had some money they could pay the lawyer. The victim said the women left shopping carts in the store and got into the victim's vehicle to go see the "unknown lawyer," according to reports.
"They parked behind Goody's about 30 minutes or so while the female with the hat went to go see the unknown lawyer," Elms said.
The suspect returned and asked how much the victim had to pay the lawyer. The victim gave the woman $1,800 cash, and the suspect asked for more.
"The female said, 'Do you have any more because we will be dividing $20,000, but remember it has to sit in the bank six months or something like that,'" reports state.
The victim told them she had more money in the bank and they drove her through the Bank of Clarendon drive-thru, where the victim withdrew $2,000 more in cash.
The victim told police the suspects then told her they paid the lawyer and that everything was now set.
"The female said she had to go to Florence to buy a BMW," reports indicate.
Elms said when it comes to something like the above case, if it seems too good to be true, it is.
"You should never give money to folks you don't know," he said. "These people take advantage of the elderly, especially. I'm hoping that someone recognizes the clothes these women are wearing or the description and we can help this victim out."
Anyone with information is asked to call the Manning Police Department at (803) 435-8859. Callers may remain anonymous.
