Summerside woman calls out purse thief

Debbie Dalton wants the man who stole her purse to know the grief it has caused her.

On July 21, she was eating breakfast with her son at the Water Street Tim Hortons in Summerside. When they went to leave, her son went to the washroom, and she went outside to wait.

"Made it half way to my car and realized I missed the feeling of my purse strap on my shoulder." she said.

It's over for them after they do it and have fun with the money or whatever, but they just don't realize what the victims have to go through.- Debbie Dalton

On her way back in she met her son coming out and asked him to grab her purse but he was reluctant.

"He says, 'well there's some guy sitting there', and I said 'that's OK, just go excuse yourself and say you know my mom forgot her purse', and by the time we got in there, this guy was gone."

Money and IDs gone

She called police and they began an investigation. But at that moment, Dalton said her life was turned upside down. She said she doesn't have much money after moving from Ontario to be closer to a terminally ill family member.

Just before the incident, she had taken out her rent money from the bank. That, and all her ID, including her passport and birth certificates for herself and her son, are gone along with the small burgundy purse.

She cried for days, she said, and then decided to do something productive.

"I was literally driving myself crazy is what I was doing. And I learnt years ago when I first left my marriage, a counsellor had spoke to me and said you have to write down what you're feeling, so more or less like a therapy thing to get it out of your head," she said.

And that's what she did, writing a letter to whoever stole her purse telling them what a struggle they have caused her, and she had it published in the local paper.

'Not going to let them take me down'

"I just thought 'OK you know what, even if you do read it, it's not going to matter to you, I know it's not', but I've got to think of me," she said. "I've got a son here that's looking up to me and I'm not going to let them take me down like that."

She also wants the thief and any would-be thief to think twice before they commit a crime.

"It's the aftermath.The worry of the aftermath of who you are, they've got your IDs and your bills," she said.

"They have no idea, it's over for them after they do it and have fun with the money or whatever, but they just don't realize what the victims have to go through."

Worried she'll get evicted

Dalton said she is worried about being evicted because she can't afford her rent. Her daughter has set up a GoFundMe campaign to help out.

The Summerside Police are still investigating the case and have released the picture of a person of interest from the cameras at Tim Hortons.

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