On Nov. 27, a thief walked into the Academic Building “where he planned to shop all day,” said Tony Nolan, director of Campus Safety. “He was doing his Christmas shopping.”

The first reported crime was that the suspect stole a wallet from the office of Sarah Cox, coordinator of the Academic Achievement Center.

“It was bizarre. I was in the corridor (talking) with colleagues and I saw the guy come in through the door,” said Cox in regards to seeing the thief leave her office. “I knew he was in there too long. At that point my life went into slow motion.”

Cox did not want to jump to conclusions or wrongly accuse, so she quickly hurried home when she realized her wallet was missing. “At that point you don’t trust your memory,” said Cox.

The suspect left the building and re- entered later, passing Cox as she returned from home. The thief looked at her and asked “alright?”

“People have told me I’ve been too nice about it,” said Cox. “Students said ‘you should’ve tackled him,’ ‘talk to him.’

“What do you when this happens to you?”

Cox took a good look at the suspect to be able to describe him to the police and she went back to her office and calmly sat down and tried to recall what was in her wallet. Within minutes she was able to cancel any credit cards.

Dee Wagner was able to also give a detailed description for Campus Safety, who chased him off campus to Rosewood, where they called in the police.

The suspect was described as “bold”— he was spotted on all the floors of the Academic Building before being approached by Campus Safety.

The colored security camera image captured shows the suspect calmly walking around the building, talking on a cell phone. Cox suspects the cell phone was a “rouse” to make him fit in. “No one down here gets a cell phone reception,” said Cox.

The image was released the Grand Rapids Police Department.

Cox is willing to tell her story to others to help alleviate any future, potential repeats from occurring. She encourages others to not carry social security cards in wallets and to note any important information, like bank numbers. IDtheftcenter.org is a site that Cox recommends to individuals in order to alleviate any potential identify theft situation.

“I’d like to thank everyone for being so kind and great,” said Cox. “And thanks to Campus Safety. They were helpful and concerned.”