Deputy needs help identifying woman

Deputy Rosary Ponce is asking for help identifying a woman who paid for a bathing suit with a fake $100 bill.

The woman bought the black colored size 20 bathing suit February 11th just before 8 p.m. at the Sandal Factory in Marathon. She said she was buying it for her mother. She paid for the bathing suit with a $100 bill. The clerk said she looked closely at the bill and used a counterfeit detector pen on it. She said it looked well used – or as she put it “washed a hundred times”. But the pen did not indicate it was fake so she took the bill.

The bank called on Tuesday to say the bill was a fake. The store pulled surveillance photos of the woman making the transaction. The clerk said the woman is a black female in her 20s with a slim build. At the time she was wearing black pants and a black tank top. She was the passenger in a silver Dodge Charger with a Florida Handicap sign hanging in the front window. Deputy Ponce would like help in identifying her so she can interview her in connection with this case.

Anyone with information about this case should contact the Sheriff's Office at 305-289-2430. Callers who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers of the Florida Keys. If a Crimestoppers tip leads to an arrest, the caller would be eligible for a cash reward. The Crimestoppers hot line number is 1-800-346-TIPS. Tips may be made anonymously on line at www.tipsubmit.com or via a text message to 274637 using the keyword TIP136.