Robbers Snatch 81-Year-Old Woman’s Purse — And Then She Chases Them Down In Her Car

Don’t mess with an old lady — some aren’t nearly as helpless as they may look.

After a pair of robbers snatched her purse right out of her car, 81-year-old Alice Makla chased after the criminals in an attempt to get her money back, WNEP reported.

And though she wasn’t able to stop the thieves in their tracks, the fact that she chased the duo from the crime scene helped lead police to the purse snatchers and resulted in their confession and arrest.

The crime took place in Pennsylvania’s Mount Pocono neighborhood on Tuesday in the 81-year-old woman’s own driveway.

Makla had been shopping at her local Rite Aid that afternoon and at some point during the trip, a young man and woman happened to notice that the 81-year-old had quite a bit of cash in her handbag, The Huffington Post reported.

The 81-year-old was still in her vehicle, in her driveway, when the man and woman approached her. Alice opened her window and the woman started talking to her, and it turns out she was asking for a favor.

The woman pleaded with Alice to lend her $10 in gas money. And evidently, the 81-year-old has a tender heart, because not only did she intend to give her the needed cash, but she even offered $20 because that was all she had.

And her kindness was immediately repaid by a daring purse-snatching. Neighbor Steve Jabara arrived home about 20 minutes after the crime and heard what happened next: after Makla had agreed to help them, one of the two criminals slipped a hand through the window.

“One of the fellows reached in and grabbed the purse. She was talking to them, the window was open and they ran with it and she tried to chase them.”

According to The Associated Press, they booked it from the scene of crime, hopping into their vehicle and driving away. But the 81-year-old was right on their tail.

Apparently without skipping a beat, she put her car in drive, hit the gas, and chased the muggers. Jabara was impressed.

“She wasn’t afraid to go after them. They had her purse. She had I guess some money in there. She was pretty brave actually. She doesn’t think so but she was.”

It’s not clear how long she chased the robbers and at what point they ultimately eluded her, but her driving skills were definitely impressive — the 81-year-old managed to catch up with the robbers and she even ran into the back of their getaway car.

At this point, the chased robbers took $140 from the pilfered wallet, chucked the handbag out of the window, and managed to escape.Not long afterward, police found their vehicle in the parking lot of a Shop Rite nearby.

The front of Alice’s car was also damaged as a result. And it was the damage to their vehicle that ended up leading cops right to the suspects.

81-year-old woman chases robbers with car https://t.co/d0ON4taeLf pic.twitter.com/kkeaMnOvN1

— WPXI (@WPXI) February 20, 2016

“She rammed their car, left some marks on it, and police had at least something to go on and they were apprehended,” the neighbor said.

No doubt, the robbers believed that targeting an old woman would be easy, and hadn’t counted on being chased. Once the cops knocked on their door, they swiftly admitted to their crime.

The would-be robbers chased by their elderly victim, are allegedly William Hayhurst, 34, and Erin Vanmatre. Both have been arraigned on robbery and other charges. Local Maria DePinto told WNEP she was very impressed.

“Good for her! I honestly think, good for her! Honestly, they actually picked on that wrong person, so wrong day to pick on her.”

[Photo By Ollyy/Shutterstock]