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Purse snatcher targets elderly woman on Mackenzie Avenue

A would-be purse snatcher has attacked a 73-year-old Revelstoke woman in the heart of the downtown shopping district. The incident occured in the 200-block of Mackenzie Ave. at 7:20 p.m. on Tuesday Feb. 8.

A would-be purse snatcher has attacked a 73-year-old Revelstoke woman in the heart of the downtown shopping district.

The incident occurred in the 200-block of Mackenzie Ave. at 7:20 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 8.

Revelstoke RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Rod Wiebe says the woman was walking down the street when the man approached her and tried to rip her purse away.

"There was a bit of a struggle, she was able to hang onto her purse and he ran away," Wiebe said.

RCMP don't have a good description of the man, other than he was wearing a grey and back hoodie top. He didn't speak during the attack, and there is no further description of his age or size available.

"The victim just saw him running away basically," Wiebe said. "That's the only description we have at this point."

Fortunately, the woman was not hurt in the attack.

There were no witnesses to the attack.

"We don't have a lot of leads at this point," Wiebe said. "We're going to be asking around town – certain individuals to see if we can get any information, but other than that we have no leads to follow."

Violent attacks like this are not common in Revelstoke. "I can't even remember the last time there was an attempted purse snatching in town," Wiebe said. "I know we've had purses stolen, but they've never been actually carried by the person."

"We would hope if anyone has seen this or anyone knows who did this, that they will get in contact with us," Wiebe said. "It's a despicable crime and we'd really like to be able to solve it."

Anyone with information is asked to call the Revelstoke RCMP detachment at 250-837-5255 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800 222- TIPS (8477).