Police - Man steals car, leaves behind birth certificate

Betty Fadler was just being a good Samaritan Monday morning by helping out a supposed stranded motorist, but in doing so her own car was taken for a ride.

Surprisingly, the 23-year-old man police say took the woman's car left also behind some key evidence -- his birth certificate -- which helped lead to his capture.

Fadler was working at the office of the Evangelical United Church of Christ at 37 S. Ellis in Cape Girardeau when a man rang the office doorbell and asked if he could borrow a tire jack to change a flat tire.

She told him she didn't have one. He then asked to use her phone, which Fadler allowed because it was not an uncommon request, she said.

The man noticed a photocopier in the office and said he was about to go on a job interview. He asked if the copier worked.

"I told him I sure hoped it did, as I was about to put out a church newsletter," Fadler said.

The man then asked if she would make a copy of his birth certificate, she said. She copied the front of the certificate and showed it to him. When she turned around to make a copy of the back side, she heard her car keys jingle behind her. Fadler saw him run out of the office holding her purse and keys. Police allege at that point he stole the woman's car.

Later in the afternoon, police spotted the car parked in an alley a few blocks away from the church. They found the suspect in a nearby home, arrested him and booked him at the police station at 3 p.m.

The suspect is in custody pending the filing of formal charges for theft of a motor vehicle and credit cards.

"I was never afraid of him, though I suppose perhaps I should have been," Fadler said.

Her belongings were recovered with the car, but her thoughts centered on the young man.

"I'm very relieved it was resolved so quickly," she said. "But at the same time, I feel sorry for this young man, who chose to do such a dumb thing as this."

mwells@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160