Owasso Police Search For Alleged Shoplifter Who Led Them On High-Speed Chase

Owasso police are looking for a woman they say shoplifted and led them on a high-speed chase with a toddler in the car.

As soon as officers spotted a child in the back seat, they say they backed off.

Police believe the woman stopped at least one other store before making her way to Kohl's. Officers caught up to her in the parking lot, but she got away and took off with police not far behind.

Officers believe the shoplifter's first stop was at Surcee, a gift and specialty shop. Surveillance video given to us by the owner of the store shows a woman shoving something into her purse, then continuing to browse through necklaces and other jewelry.

A few minutes later, she looks around, then puts what looks to be a few pieces of jewelry into the same bag. Then she grabs her cell phone with the other hand and keeps shopping.

Owasso police said she walked out of the store with about $800 in merchandise.

Less than a half mile away, she hit Kohl's, police said. Officers said you can see a woman in a store security video provided by police. Kohl's security staff said when they caught her stealing, they called police.

"She was running through the parking lot, there was a short scuffle in the parking lot where they were trying to take her into custody, but she was able to make it into her vehicle," OPD Deputy Chief Jason Woodruff said.

Woodruff said the woman pulled out of the parking lot to the entrance ramp onto U.S. Highway169 and reached speeds of up to 100 miles per hour.

“A toddler-aged child that was seen in the car with the suspect, based on the totality of the circumstances, our officers decided to terminate the pursuit," Woodruff said.

But he says just because they stopped chasing the maroon Ford Expedition, they aren't giving up on finding her. They just didn't want to harm the child in the process.

“She obviously had no regard for public safety or the safety of the child,” Woodruff said.

At first, she faced the misdemeanor offense of shoplifting, but now Woodruff said, she faces much more serious charges including child endangerment.

Officers are determined to track the woman down.

If you know who the woman in the video is, call Owasso police.