Local

Theft victim gets stolen $10,000 purse returned -- with a note of apology

BOTHELL, Wash. — Colleen O'Harra knew the oversized purse she was given more than 30 years ago was unique, but until it was stolen in early November, she had no idea of it's true value to collectors, and she certainly never expected to get it back.

On Wednesday, a Bothell police officer called Colleen with good news and a strange twist.

"He said, 'I have a very interesting story to tell you,'" O'Harra said. "He told me, 'I have your bag.' I said, 'You have what?'"

Bothell police told O'Harra they received her 1985 Louis Vuitton bag in the mail with an anonymously-written note saying the sender had "no idea how valuable the bag was until I saw the story on KIRO 7."

Officers say the sender neglected to add that someone had also tried to use O'Harra's credit cards. The man who they believe stole the bag at the Bothell Home Depot was seen on surveillance images, and Bothell police published the image in a tweet with the caption ""Boyfriend just unexpectedly give you a new Louis Vuitton bag? If this is him, might be time for a new boyfriend, just sayin'."

"I received it as a Mother's Day gift in 1985," she said. "I hardly ever used it, but when I turned my back for a minute in Home Depot, it was gone."

O'Harra says everything she carried inside the bag -- her keys, driver's license, credit cards and personal items -- were not returned, but she regards the bag return as a small miracle, which she says increases her faith in mankind.

"It's an exciting story someone out there had the heart to say wait a minute, this is wrong," she said.

O'Harra added that while police say they intend to find the thief and arrest him, she forgives him, and because his image has been seen on social media and TV news stories, she would not press charges if she had the choice.

"I personally believe he's suffered enough," she said. "I'm not a person to judge. I'm thrilled I got it back. In our world, with all that's going on, we need some happy moments."