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A Florida woman’s stolen purse was recovered recently and the adorable something she had inside the purse was also found nearby safe and sound. This story proves that sometimes true crime cases really can have a happy ending.
The incident happened on Jan. 30, when a man police later identified as 34-year-old Benjamin Cummings, allegedly stole a woman’s purse. Using surveillance footage, police tracked the purse to a nearby abandoned vehicle. Whether Cummings was also in the car is unclear, as is how Cummings was identified. He was, however, arrested that same day, according to the Fort Myers Police Department.
Luckily, though, the woman’s belongings — whose name and age have not been reported — were also found inside the car, according to Fort Myers police. Her most valued item, however, was reportedly nowhere to be seen. That is until the cops said they heard a small sound from underneath the vehicle.
It was a 1-month old kitty!
According to Fort Myers law enforcement, the stolen purse carried a 1-month old kitten, which escaped and hid under the abandoned car until police arrived. Good thinking, kitteh! Police said they heard the cat mewing from beneath the car, it emerged and was then reunited with its owner. “While investigating the items, the stolen kitten emerged from underneath the vehicle and approached officers,” Fort Myers police said, in a statement. Oh, one more thing: The woman got all her other stolen stuff back, too.
Like this social media comment, we have some questions: “But why the lady carrying a 4-week-old kitten in her purse? lol wtf.” But as another comment explains, let’s focus on the positive: “Glad the kitten was safely returned.” Another added, “Awww how sweet. A cat burglar. A cat napping. Sounds like a felony to me.”
Fort Myers police say that Cummings, who was unarmed, now faces robbery charges and is currently held on $10,000 bond at Lee County Jail. It’s unclear what he might plead, or if he has legal representation. Cummings is expected to appear in court on Feb. 3.
Jail records, viewed by Law & Crime, indicate Cummings has a lengthy criminal record, all for robbery, dating to 2005, and those documents also identify Cummings as “transient.”
Happy true crime endings don’t come often in Fort Myers
This situation turned out okay, but Fort Myers, where it happened, has a serious crime problem, with violent crime higher than the national average. Non-violent crime rates, however — like the kitty-purse story — are lower than elsewhere in the country, according to recent FBI statistics.
Around the same time the kitten was found alive and well, Southwest Florida police, including Fort Myers, searched for another precious missing individual: 2-year-old Camilla Guzman, who police believe was abducted by two men in Fort Myers, who then fled to Cape Coral, FL., about nine miles away. Let’s hope there’s a happy resolution to that missing human-child story, too.