CAPE CORAL, Fla. - With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season it can be easy to lose track of your belongings such as a wallet or purse. Right now, a woman is behind bars suspected of swiping purses from other women while they were shopping.

Sue McKenzie was on a trip through the vegetable aisle at Publix in the northwest section of Cape Coral. She says she took her eyes away from her cart for about ten seconds, and when she turned around, her purse was gone.

"I just yelled.. my purse is gone!" she said. A shocked McKenzie couldn't believe her purse simply vanished from the basket of her cart. I picked up an ear of corn, put it back, and I turned back around and that was it," she explained.

42 year old Matlacha resident Elba Roldan is the suspect. Police say she has snatched purses from three Cape Coral women over the past few months.

According to police, Roldan was also arrested last year for doing the same thing.

Lt. Tony Sizemore says as more shoppers emerge for the holidays the criminals do, as well. "Pickpocketing, theft of purses, that's what we have here," he said.  

The only item Sue has back from the theft is her phone. She says if she needs to go back to the store for more Thanksgiving dinner items, she'll be more vigilant.   "Whenever you go to the store, if you put your purse in the cart, always strap it in!" she said.

Sue says she's now on a mission to teach other women about her experience, telling her story to make sure this doesn't happen again.