ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The Orange County Sheriff's Office on Thursday released a composite sketch of a man who tried to snatch a woman's purse last month while she was leaving work.
Deputies said that at about 11:30 p.m. Sept. 29, the woman was walking toward her vehicle after closing a Dollar Tree on South John Young Parkway near Sand Lake Road when she was approached by the man.
Investigators said the man grabbed a purse that was slung across her chest, shoved her to the ground and dragged her by the purse for about 50 feet, until a coworker seated in a vehicle started honking her horn.
Gordon Pannetone, who witnessed the incident, told Channel 9 that he looked up from his cellphone when he heard the victim screaming.
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Officials said the man was spooked and ran away without the purse.
"It's terrible," he said. "You just feel helpless. And I was very close but seemed so far away."
Pannetone said he ran to the woman's aid and the man ran toward South John Young Parkway.
"She was very shaken up, very scared," he said. "(It's) very important to get him off the streets."
The victim wasn't seriously injured.
Anyone with information about the incident or the man's whereabouts is asked to call Crimeline at 407-423-8477.