It’s supposed to be one of the happiest days of anyone’s life. But for six bridesmaids, a friend’s wedding turned into a nightmare after their purses were stolen right out of the church.
One of the bridesmaids, who is afraid to be identified because she is worried that a thief might figure out where she lives, says the six women arrived at Fairfax United Methodist Church Saturday just in time to put their belongings down and get to the ceremony. They stored their purses in a room below the sanctuary, hidden behind a podium that was up against a wall.
But about a half hour later, after the ceremony ended, the bridesmaids were approached by several women from the church, who asked if the bridesmaids had already grabbed their purses. That was when the bridesmaids knew something was wrong.
Among the things missing along with the purses is a digital camera, cell phones, cash, credit cards, driver’s licenses and cosmetics.
One bridesmaid had an iPhone in her purse and tracked it to the intersection of Coppermine Road and McNair Farms Drive in Herndon, but found nothing there and the phone eventually died. But the women say they lost much more than their valuables, they lost their sense of security.
“It’s just very alarming to think that while we were upstairs and our best friend was getting married, somebody was downstairs committing a horrible crime,” one of the bridesmaids told News4’s Aaron Gilchrist in an exclusive interview. “It was in such an odd spot and it was such a big area and they had such a little window of time.”
The bridesmaids say they thin police will probably have little luck tracking down the purses, but that they are keeping an eye on EBay and Craigslist in case their belongings show up.
