Two women stole credit cards from employees at local schools and a church at least eight times from September to December. Although Whitman wasn’t targeted, thefts occurred at nearby locations such as the Holton Arms School and the River Road Unitarian Church.The women made fraudulent purchases with the credit cards, police spokesman Dan Friz said. They took items from vacant rooms and unlocked closets, he said.

“They maintained a low-key presence,” Friz said.  “A couple of different witnesses said they appeared like parents of students or they walked around like they knew what they doing.  They were never challenged.”

The majority of victims were teachers, although the women also stole from one River Road Unitarian Church employee.

“The best thing would be for everybody to maintain possession of their wallets and purses,” Friz said.  “Each time, they would just access unlocked closets or go into desk drawers that were unlocked.  If the teachers and the employees could lock up their stuff, and if the students could just either put it in their lockers or hang onto it on their persons, that would be monumentally helpful.”

The Montgomery County Police Department released photos taken from surveillance cameras of the two suspects on its website.

“Hopefully, with us putting their pictures out there they’ll back off,” Friz said.