Dalton police seek help identifying possible witness in auto theft investigation

This screenshot taken from surveillance footage shows the woman Dalton Police would like to speak with in regards to a pair of auto thefts from Extreme Auto Sales at 924 South Thornton Ave. Police said the woman is "not necessarily" a suspect, and they are currently regarding her as a potential witness.
This screenshot taken from surveillance footage shows the woman Dalton Police would like to speak with in regards to a pair of auto thefts from Extreme Auto Sales at 924 South Thornton Ave. Police said the woman is "not necessarily" a suspect, and they are currently regarding her as a potential witness.

The Dalton Police Department is asking for help from the public in identifying a woman they believe may have witnessed the theft of two cars from a Dalton car dealership.

The woman in question was captured on surveillance video making transactions. Later, the receipts from those transactions were found in the recovered stolen vehicles, according to a Dalton Police Department news release.

"She was also recorded arriving at a store location in a vehicle that investigators believe was one of the stolen vehicles," reads the release. "She is not necessarily being considered a suspect in the case."

The theft occurred on the evening of Feb. 15 or in the early morning hours of Feb. 16 at Extreme Auto Sales at 924 South Thornton Ave.

The thief or thieves broke a window at the business and stole a large number of car keys stored inside. Business owners also found two cars missing, a black 2011 Mercedes Benz sedan and a black 2010 Dodge Charger.

Investigators later learned the Charger had crashed into a ditch in Rossville, Ga., where it was recovered. The Mercedes was later recovered in Red Bank.

Inside the vehicles, investigators discovered a number of items that did not belong in the cars including receipts from multiple transactions, the release states. One receipt was for a purchase made at a Walgreen's store on Ringgold Road in East Ridge. Another receipt found inside the Charger's glove compartment was a price quote from an Auto Zone store on Rossville Boulevard in Chattanooga for an engine part that the Charger needed.

A Dalton detective viewed surveillance footage from both locations and found the same woman was a passenger in the Charger in both locations and made the pricing inquiry at the Auto Zone store. She was a young white woman with shoulder length hair colored with purple or blue highlights. She was wearing jeans and a dark jacket with a hood.

Anyone with information on the crime or the identity of the woman in the picture is asked to contact Detective Charles Williams at 706-278-9085, extension 9280.

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