DARING WOMAN THIEF

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 102, 23 January 1918, Page 4

DARING WOMAN THIEF

IN LONDON WEST END HOTEL. A pale-faced and neatly dressed young woman, whoso left shoe slipped off, Cinderella-like, as she was scurrying off to avoid capture, was recently "wanted" by London dotectives for committing three daring robberies from bedrooms in a West End hotel. After raiding two other occupied bedrooms in Almond's Hotel, Clifford Street, New Bond Street, and stealing a few articles of jewellery and a fur, she entered the room of Mrs. Phillips, the wife of Colonel Harold Phillips, secured jewellery stated to be worth £1120, and managed to get clear away in the midst of. an alarm raised by tho robbed women. The thief was not'staying in the hotel. She wore a hlue coat and skirt, a small round hat, and a brown fur. In the first bedroom she entered she went to the dressing-tablo and removed one or two articles of jewellery. Tho occupant of the room, a woman, was asleep, but tho presence of the intruder awakened her. "Is there a raid on?" she asked dreamily. "It's all. right now," answered the thief calmly. "Only one machine got through. You go to sleep again." Thus lulled to a sense of safety by a woman she thought was one of the servants, the visitor went to sleep again. Then the thiof entered the opposite bedroom and again she disturbed the sleeper (also a woman) as 6ho was walking away with a fur. "Who is that?" exclaimed a voice from the bed.

"It's quito all right;" replied tho thief reassuringly. "Go to sleep again, ,: and she left this second room without arousing suspicion.

Her third and most successful escapade was iu tho room twu doors away, occupied by Mrs. Phillips. She went to the dressing-table and pocketed several articles of jewellery, including a pearl necklace, and from a wardrobe sho took a handbag. Then Mrs. Phillips awoke and saw the moving figure. She has a French maid, ana asked iu French: "Is that you, Marie P" Tho thief was equal to the occasion. She replied in b'rench: "Don't worry. It's quite all right."

Mrs. Phillips's suspicious were aroused; she jumped out of bed as the intruder' flitted through tho doorway, and, seeing that her jewels had gone, cried aloud that she had been robbed.

The manager heard the alarm and as he ran up one flight of stairs he saw a young wonian hurry along tho corridor and descend the other llight. At that time ho had no idea what had happened, and when he learned from Airs. Phillips that she had been robbed tho woman thief had vanished out.of tho front door. In her hurried flight her left shoe heel caught in tho rubber door-mat and the shoo came off. She did not stop to retrieve the shoo, and it is now in the possession of the police.

Tho jewels stolen from Mrs. Phillips's room include a necklace of 188 graduated pearls, with small ones alternating; a square-fneed platinum watch with diamonds round tho face j a green enamel shamrock brooch set with diamonds; a gold cigarette case with "AI.P." on the outside and "Mercedes" inside; and a long platinum chain.

The only clue tho police have is the thief's lost shoo. The thief is believed to be a.woman of good.education, and she may be French—she spoke good French to Mrs/ Phillips—and it is just possible, judging by the readiness of her reply, that she knew that Mrs. Phillips had a French maid. In each case tho bedroom doors had been left unlocked—a fairly common custom since air raids began.