10/17/2007

Associated Press

Police in Johnson County are searching for two women they believe are responsible for a series of thefts involving pricey designer eyewear.

Authorities say they're looking for the stolen frames to surface after shoplifters took the eyewear from optical shops in Leawood, Mission, Overland Park and Prairie Village.

"They can probably take them (the frames) somewhere else and have the lenses put in them," said Prairie Village Police Maj. Mark Sullivan. "They may have their own network (to sell the items). They may be selling them on eBay."

Police have descriptions of two women, but during one heist they were also joined by a man and a young child.

In three cases the robbers struck around the lunch hour and typically posed as customers before dashing off with merchandise.

The largest theft occurred Aug. 7 at Leawood Family Eye Care when two women entered the store, chatted with employees and stole 15 designer frames worth about $3,700.

On Aug. 24, a surveillance tape shows two women with a man and a boy at the Brill Eye Center in Mission. They pretended to shop before taking five pairs of designer sunglasses, priced up to $270 each.

The same women are suspected of stealing a pair of Fendi frames on Aug. 30 from the Kansas City Eye Clinic in Overland Park. Employees reported seeing the women in the store the day before.

On Sept. 10, a woman entered the Mid-America Eye Center in Prairie Village and made an appointment, apparently under a bogus name. After she left with another individual, employees discovered $1,320 worth of frames missing from the rack.

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Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com