RAYTOWN, MO A teenage boy is being sought after police say he robbed a 91-year-old woman with dementia multiple times while she was in the house.
In-home surveillance video clearly shows the young man in Virginia Callahan's kitchen, helping himself to her purse while keeping his eye on her while she was standing by the front door.
"He distracts her by getting her to look out the window saying, 'Oh, there's my sister or my girlfriend.' So she'll turn around and look out the window and that's when he was getting the purse, the billfold, whatever he can get," said Callahan's son, Roy Callahan.
And he's accused of doing it multiple times over the last few weeks, making off with close to $1,000 in cash mainly from Virginia Callahan's Social Security checks - money she needs to live on.
"She's an older lady, you know just trying to make friends. She didn't realize what was happening," Roy Callahan said.
It is something the family says started happening nearly a year ago. First, it was an offer to mow the lawn. Then, they say the young man showed up with a Valentine's Day card, and then he started coming by to chat with her.
"It started out visiting. He calls her grandma and always wants to hug her and that kind of stuff to gain her confidence," Roy Callahan said.
And he did. So much so that when he had recently started stopping by with increased frequency.
Jake Scalf lives across the street from Virginia Callahan. He said it was just a couple of weeks ago he noticed an unfamiliar car with unfamiliar faces pull up to her house.
Two men got out and two stayed in the car. He said they were inside for just a couple of minutes and took off.
"It was alarming enough I went over to check on Mrs. Callahan. I peeked through the screen and she was in the kitchen.
She didn't seemed alarmed or anything. She was standing at the kitchen sink, so I just went back to my yard work," Scalf said.
Everyone in the neighborhood says they'll be watching over Virginia Callahan closely and hope this is the last time anyone betrays her.
Raytown police had interviewed one man but released him. They're still looking for whoever stole from Virginia Callahan. If you recognize the man in the video, call police.
Update:Police identified the teenage thug.