A criminal cadre of older women in hats, The Mad Hatters, have long been sought for numerous wallet thefts in the Detroit area, police say.

ADVERTISEMENT

"We may never find who they all are, but we've got some good leads, and we're going to identify some of them, at least," Sterling Heights police Lt. Luke Riley told the Detroit Free Press.

He said it appears the supposed ring may have begun nabbing money and checks from unattended purses about a year ago, though one such report fitting the Hatters' profile exists from 2008, he told the newspaper.

Riley estimated the group seen on surveillance footage has stolen between $400,000 and $500,000, with banks losing the bulk of that in checks.

Bank investigators reportedly are working hard to provide police with images and other data to round up the suspects. One bank reportedly lost $200,000 to the check thefts.

Police in at least four separate counties have been struck, with tip sharing on crimes fitting the group's profile often difficult.

"Just because you're getting tips doesn't mean the person you want is in the tip file," Robert Homant, chairman of the criminal justice department at the University of Detroit Mercy, told the Free Press. "I'm not convinced they're in the area."