Good Samaritans Stop Theft Of A Purse From A Woman Who Wasn’t Even There

Good Samaritans Stop Theft Of A Purse From A Woman Who Wasn’t Even There

From NPR’s Unsung Heroes column comes the story of a woman whose purse was saved from a thief by two women she didn’t know—and she wasn’t even there.

She had left her purse by accident on a bench, and it was the mere optics of the situation that drove two Samaritans to become Good Samaritans.

Lavonne Schaafsma was visiting Chicago from Michigan. As part of her trip, she budgeted two hours for strolling and sitting in Millennium Park, people watching. Then, as she arrived at her car, anxiety attacked.

Reaching for her keys, she realized there was nothing to reach for—there was no bag on her shoulder at all. As would come to surprise no one, her purse contained a myriad of important personal effects: credit cards, ID, cash, medication, car keys, hotel key, etc.

In an anxious daze, Schaafsma attempted to retrace her steps and found herself in front of a Millennium Park gift shop, and on a lark decided to ask the cashier if anyone had turned her purse in.

Once inside, she pitched her ridiculous question and the cashier’s wide eyes nodded along with her head in the affirmative, before saying “Wow, do I have a story for you.”

40 minutes before, the cashier had been presented with a black purse by two women who seemed equally anxious. They explained someone had left the bag on a nearby bench and might come back looking for it.

The women had spotted it and noticed a man was rifling through it. That made the two suspicious enough to confront this stranger on behalf of another stranger. Flustered, the man mumbled something about how his wife had lost the bag. Matching a lie with a lie, the women said it was theirs and actually seized it from the man by force.

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Violence becomes few among us, and the women hurried inside the gift shop, feeling “shaken.” They waited for some time for anyone to ask about the purse before leaving it with the security guard.

Five minutes later, Schaafsma walked in.

“These women who I don’t know saved me hours and hours of work canceling credit cards. They rescued me from massive anxiety,” Schaafsma told NPR. “I never got to thank them for their courage and noticing something was off and intervening on behalf of a stranger who wasn’t even present.”

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The episode has left the Michigan native contemplative: would she do the same in their position?

“What act of kindness am I willing to do on behalf of someone I don’t know?”