Poplar Bluff police looking for upskirt photo suspect

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Local authorities are searching for a man accused of taking inappropriate photographs of women as they recently were shopping at the Walmart Supercenter.

On the evening of Aug. 1, Poplar Bluff Police Patrolman David Perkins responded to Walmart, where he contacted the store manager, said Detective Joey Woodruff.

"(Perkins) was told that the assessment protection employees were tracking a black male in a yellow shirt because they had seen him coming up behind females and placing his cellphone between their legs, unbeknownst to them," Woodruff explained.

Perkins tried to find the man inside the store, Woodruff said, however, "he was advised by Walmart employees that the man left the business in a blue car."

The manager reported incidents involving two females, according to Woodruff, but "they were only able to locate one of the customers that this happened to, which happened to be a juvenile."

Woodruff said Walmart's surveillance videos of the incident was obtained.

"In the video, the phone is face up, up toward the females' genitalia," Woodruff said.

From the video, he said, officers were able to identify the vehicle the suspect left in.

"We had a partial plate on the vehicle, and located a plate on the same type of car belonging to John Turner," Woodruff said. "We then compared photographs of the vehicle owner to the suspect and were able to positively identify him as John Turner."

The suspect's identification, according to Woodruff, was "confirmed numerous times by callers after the suspect's picture was put on the department's Facebook page."

Turner has not been located at this time. He is wanted on suspicion of invasion of privacy.

Anyone with information about Turner's whereabouts should contact the police department, (573) 785-5776.