Police in Alpharetta, Ga., may have cracked the case that has terrorized local residents' wallets, bank accounts and credit ratings.
For the past two years, a stealthy, if part-time, thief has spent Friday afternoons lifting petty cash and credit cards from vehicles left unlocked by unconcerned residents of the upscale Atlanta suburb.
It turns out the bandit may have been so successful because he blended right in, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution..
On Aug. 13, police arrested town resident Oliver G. Petit for allegedly swiping $180 in cash out of a parked Ford Explorer at a local park.
Petit himself was driving a silver Lincoln LS sedan (search), worth about $32,000, and wearing a golf shirt tucked into khaki dress shorts.
At Petit's $300,000 house, near a lake and a golf course, police allegedly found a few dozen incriminating credit cards, gift cards and receipts.
Petit isn't talking, but he had recently been arrested for shoplifting, and his own son filed a police report accusing his father of stealing his identity to rack up $19,200 in debt.
He also matches the sole witness description of a car break-in, as well as the ATM surveillance video of a man who took out $600 on a stolen card.
Cops haven't linked him to all the reported thefts, which total about $30,000, but seem certain they have their man.
"A hundred different families have had their lives turned upside down because of this," Sgt. Sean Woods told the newspaper.
— Thanks to Out There reader Kris P.
Runaway Bridal Gowns
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Hundreds of wedding dresses worth more than $300,000 (US$230,000) were stolen from a store in the city's upscale South Granville neighborhood, police said.
Investigators were seeking clues at consignment shops, new wedding stores and other operations after the heist was discovered Monday at Lisange Wedding World (search).
Police Inspector Tim Laidler said he had never heard of so many dresses being stolen at once.
"What are you going to do with 300 wedding dresses?" Laidler said. "They're going to have a lot of problems selling them.
"It's not something you can sell at a flea market ... It's not the sort of thing you buy off the back of a truck."
Besides the wedding dresses, 150 bridesmaids' dresses, 150 nightgowns and small amounts of jewelry, shoes and computer equipment were lifted after alarm wiring in the ceiling was cut and the front door smashed, police said.
None of the stolen dresses was reserved for a wedding, so there won't be any unhappy brides, and only dresses up for sale were taken, owner Gavin Chio said. Rental dresses were left on the racks.
Employees replaced the glass door by noon Monday and took dresses from the back of the store to put on display.
The robbery was the first at the store since it opened five years ago, Chio said.
Accused Bank Robber Has More Courage Than Brains
BOSTON (AP) — Paul Michael Callahan was a bank robber in search of a bank, according to police.
First thing Monday morning, he allegedly tried to rob a copy shop at Boston University, thinking it was a bank.
Boston police said he walked into the shop and passed a note to a store employee asking for money. When he was told the shop wasn't a bank, Callahan asked for directions to the nearest Fleet bank branch, police said.
About 40 minutes later, he allegedly robbed a Fleet branch — but came away with less than $200.
On Monday afternoon, Callahan allegedly held up a Citizen's Bank, making off with $2,500. But a bright red dye pack exploded as he fled in his truck, which got a flat tire not far away.
In a last-ditch effort to get away, police said Callahan, covered in red dye, abandoned his truck and ran to a gas station, where he asked a customer there to use his cell phone. He wanted to report his truck stolen.
Police found Callahan, 32, hiding in the gas station. He was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday morning on an armed robbery charge. More charges may follow, according to police.
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — An 11-year-old boy was out hunting frogs on Island Lake when he became the prey.
A large fish, probably a muskellunge (search) or a northern pike (search), attacked the boy about 5 p.m. last Thursday as he and his young sister were wading in a foot of water.
The resulting wounds on Mason DeRosier's feet and hands required 11 stitches to close.
Mason's father, Richard DeRosier, was in a paddle boat just offshore during the attack. DeRosier, a Lake County deputy sheriff, said he was facing the children when he saw a huge swirl in the water.
"Before I can say 'Holy moley! Look at that!', all of a sudden the swirl is by their feet," he said.
Mason said he saw the fish splash just offshore. "It was like, maybe, 5 feet in front of us," Mason said. "Then it splashed right at my foot and bit me. It hurt."
It didn't let go.
"I smacked it in the head and tried to pry it off my foot," Mason said. "He let go, but he bit my hand."
The sister wasn't hurt.
Mason was taken in back to the family's cabin to wash the wounds, then he was off to the hospital.
He received eight stitches in his left hand and three in the bottom of his right foot. He has numerous other bite marks across the top of his foot, his dad said.
"I'll bet he has 20 cuts on his foot and 10 cuts on his hand," Richard DeRosier said.
Right City, Wrong Fountain
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The postcard at Cracker Barrel restaurants said "Greetings from Columbia," but the fountain in the picture won't be found anywhere near here.
Instead it's one of the most famous fountains in Savannah, Ga., about 150 miles south of South Carolina's capital.
The restaurant chain pulled the postcards after a reporter from The (Columbia) State newspaper pointed out the error earlier this month. New ones showing a Columbia scene will soon be produced, Cracker Barrel spokesman Jim Taylor said.
"We have thousands of postcards in 500 stores," he said. "You really want to make sure what you have is accurate."
A spokesman for Seek Productions, which made the postcard, would not talk about the error with the newspaper. The company is based in Millersville, Tenn., near Nashville.
The fountain on the postcard is the centerpiece of Savannah's Forsyth Park, one of the city's icon and frequently featured on Georgia tourism ads.
Compiled by FOXNews.com's Paul Wagenseil.
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