Hays Post

UPDATE: Suspect is identified by HPD

After showing a commercial property to a prospective buyer, a Hays real estate agent said she was “shocked” to find her vehicle had been burglarized in broad daylight.

After showing the former Home Party Club in the 200 block of West 10th on Thursday evening, Jennyfer Toepfer of Williams Real Estate said she went to her vehicle to call the owner about turning lights off in the building. She then went back inside to turn out the lights.

“During that two-minute period I was inside, she took my purse in broad daylight and my daughter’s bag,” Toepfer said. “As soon as I got back in my car, I reached for (the purse) … and I realized instantly it was gone.”

She said the incident occurred at approximately 7:20 p.m. Thursday.

“I was extremely shocked that would happen,” she added. “I consider this a safe place to live, and I’d never expect something like that.”

Toepfer said she filed a police report Thursday evening, noting the loss was in the range of “several hundred dollars.”

She is hopeful, however, that security camera footage she said captured the incident will aid in the investigation. On Friday, she submitted an excerpt of the security camera feed she shot on her smartphone while reviewing the tapes with the building owner.

“I’m sure someone out there knows who she is,” she said.

Anyone with information about this or any other criminal activity can call the Hays Police Department at (785) 625-1030.