On Tuesday evening, a stranger walked into my garage, opened my car door and walked away with my purse.

I did not realize it, of course, until the next day when I got in my car and it would not start.

I have a push-to-start vehicle and the key was in my purse, which was no longer in my car.

At first, I thought maybe I had forgotten I had taken my purse inside the house, but after checking all over and not finding it anywhere, I concluded someone had stolen it out of the car.

I know many of you are asking, why I would leave my purse in the car.

Well the answer is I have a garage door and I close it at night.

And to be honest, I never would have thought someone would be so bold as to enter my garage, since it is only inches from my back door, but a fool they sure made of me.

In the past, I was not one who always locked up when I am home, but obviously, my habits will need to change.

If this person has the audacity to walk into my garage, next time he may decide to come on in my house.

After coming to the realization I had been violated, I called 911 and a police officer came to my home and wrote down all the information. I knew Officer Powers could not really do much about my situation, but he was kind enough to walk down the street with me to see it the criminal had thrown my purse in the bushes.

We figured maybe all he was after was cash and that after he had grabbed the money he would discard my handbag.

No luck.

So not only did the joker leave me $80 poorer, he made off with my wallet, which had my credit cards, my driver’s license, my insurance cards and my ATM card.

And to add insult to injury, in my purse were my beloved sunglasses that I have had for more than 10 years and my favorite shade of lipstick!

This criminal also managed to steal a good bit of my time.

Canceling credit cards and having to get a new license is no fast feat.

After Officer Powers drove off, I decided to continue the search for my purse in the adjoining neighborhood.

I was still hoping to find some of its contents.

While searching, one of the neighbors stopped to ask me what I was doing and after explaining, the situation, he reported the robber had also broken into a car in their neighborhood and it just so happened the homeowners have surveillance cameras.

An image was captured of the thief and I am hoping it will be able to help track him down.

Petty theft may not seem like a big deal to our court systems, since most of the time these thugs are just walking away with items we have left in our cars.

However, these crimes as a whole are mounting. If current consequences are not curtailing the behavior, it may be time to start looking at some other form of punishment. You know the old saying, give someone an inch, they’ll take a mile.

But until we get a firm grip on these perpetrators, lock your doors and keep an eye out for your neighbor because losing your favorite tube of lipstick may not be the worst to happen!

Terri Cowart Frazier is a staff writer for The Vicksburg Post. You may reach her at terri.frazier@vicksburgpost.com.