Courtesy Photo­Image Jerry Griffis

Authorities are not certain they caught the thief, but they found some of the items that were stolen from a woman's purse in Cody Park.

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Around 5:30 p.m. Friday, North Platte police went to Cody Park, where a woman said she parked her vehicle in the gravel by the camping area and went for a walk. Her purse was missing from the unsecured vehicle when she returned, a police spokesman said.

The woman told police she saw a man wearing a red shirt and blue jeans acting suspiciously near the vehicle but did not think much of it at the time.

The purse contained keys, approximately $20 cash, a silver Olympus camera, make up, her ID, bank cards and other personal items, the spokesman said.

Later that evening, the woman notified the police department and indicated the man she saw near her car was walking over the Jeffers viaduct.

Officers located the suspect and identified him as Jerry Griffis of North Platte. Griffis, 44, was wearing a red shirt and blue jeans and admitted to being at Cody Park near the camping area and river.

A search of his person revealed cash and a silver Olympus camera, as well as a small amount of marijuana, police said.

Griffis denied stealing the purse but admitted to removing the money and camera from a purse he allegedly found in the men’s restroom at the park.

Griffis was charged with possession of stolen property, a misdemeanor, and cited for possession of marijuana, less than one ounce, an infraction.

The purse turned up in the Cody Park men’s bathroom by the camping area, the police spokesman said.