She stole a coloring book — then car problems stopped her getaway, Myrtle Beach cops say

A woman ran out of gas while parked in the fire lane at a Myrtle Beach craft store after she stole a coloring book Monday, a police report said.

Officers charged Melissa Vinson Webster, 37, with shoplifting. Surveillance footage shows the suspect concealing something under her jacket and hastily walking out of Michaels on Seaboard Street, authorities said.

Myrtle Beach police went to the store after reports of a suspicious vehicle parked in the fire lane that was possibly involved in a shoplifting incident about 9 p.m.

Webster told police she ran out of gas and when she tried to crank the vehicle, it would not stay on, a report said. After telling police the vehicle belonged to a friend, the suspect walked to a gas station to fill a gas can with fuel, police said.

A witness inside the store told police the suspect was acting suspicious, the report said, and video surveillance showed she put something in her jacket before leaving the store with another woman.

Police then detained the suspect and the woman she was with, but only arrested Webster, the report said. The suspect said she concealed a coloring book in her jacket to give to a friend’s son for his birthday, according to police.

Webster was transported to the Myrtle Beach Jail and issued a ticket in connection with shoplifting, authorities said.

Hannah Strong: 843-444-1765, @HannahLStrong

This story was originally published October 23, 2018 at 8:36 AM.