Authorities searching for woman who was mistakely given another womans wallett

Etowah County authorities are searching for a woman who allegedly took off with another woman's wallet in an apparent incident of mistaken identity.

According to investigators, a woman accidentally left her wallet on the counter at Mountain Top Grocery near Altoona around 7:30 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 27. After helping another female customer, the store clerk realized the wallet was left behind and ran outside to return it to the woman, not realizing he was giving it to the wrong customer. 

The woman, who didn't tell the clerk that the wallet didn't belong to her, drove off with the victim's wallet on Highway 278 towards Attalla. A short time later, the rightful owner of the wallet returned to retrieve her property, only to learn that it was mistakenly given to another customer.

The wallet reportedly contained a "substantial amount of money" from the victim's recently-cashed tax refund check.

Authorities have released surveillance images and video of the woman accused of taking the wallet. She was last seen wearing an "Alabama" sweatshirt and blue jeans. The store clerk is not suspected of any wrongdoing.

Investigators said that if the woman who has the wallet took it by mistake, she can return it to Investigator Robin Grant at the Etowah County Sheriff's Office. Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to call Grant at 256-546--2825.