Brain Teasers
The Purse Snatcher
Mystery
Mystery teasers are little stories where you need to figure out what happened based on the given clues.Mystery
"I was standing outside the store waiting for my husband to bring the car around, when all of a sudden a man, I didn't see anything but his back, snatched my purse!" The woman was furiously telling the police officers the story of her purse snatching.
A supposed witness, who claimed he had been sitting on a nearby bench, told what he had seen. "This woman was standing about 4 feet in front of me, holding a few shopping bags, plus her purse. A large man dressed in jeans, a black shirt, and leather coat snatched her purse and hurried into the fire escape door on the side of the building."
A few hours later the purse was found in the witness' car and he was arrested. How did the police know he was the purse snatcher?
A supposed witness, who claimed he had been sitting on a nearby bench, told what he had seen. "This woman was standing about 4 feet in front of me, holding a few shopping bags, plus her purse. A large man dressed in jeans, a black shirt, and leather coat snatched her purse and hurried into the fire escape door on the side of the building."
A few hours later the purse was found in the witness' car and he was arrested. How did the police know he was the purse snatcher?
Hint
There was something fishy about the witness' story.Answer
The witness said he saw the snatcher hurry into the store through the fire escape door. Fire escape doors only open from the inside. Catching this bluff, the police obtained a search warrant and searched his car, finding the purse. He confessed.Hide Hint Show Hint Hide Answer Show Answer
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Comments
I love a mystery. Got this one without the hint. Keep them coming!
ok well not to bad but really.. not toop hard but who whould think of that?
Great mystery!
Ohhhh, I thought maybe he couldn't see the side of the building from where he was sitting, so it was a little confusing for me. I guess since that was a wrong answer the way you wrote it didn't really matter, since the answer doesn't even come close! i'm confusing myself again, so ill just say Great Teaser and move on!
good 1
good one - i got it right off the bat without the hint, even though i clicked on it
Good One dolphingurl12!Keep the Mystery teasers coming!
Jul 25, 2005
Good One!!
i thought that since the witness was 4 feet behind the woman and she could only see the theif's back then the witness would not have known the color of the guys shirt since from the back he would only have seen the jacket....i think i over thought this one....
whoa whew!
I thought the same thing about not being able to see the guy's shirt Good Teaser! Keep up the good work!
that one was good
better and harder than "the missing earrings"
good work though
peace out
better and harder than "the missing earrings"
good work though
peace out
yeah i thought that since she was standing on the edge he was beside her and couldnt tell the color of the mans shirt... another good answer...
Good one! I didn't get it until after I read the hint! See, your teasers aren't all easy! Keep em comin and don't forget to smile!
everybody says this is my worst one..
no wait, i got them confused nevermind
ooooo i didnt get it?
Pretty easy.
Sep 05, 2005
Very simple solution, but nice storyline. Anyone with police training will tell you that a story with too many details is the hallmark of a liar.
Not bad.
Not bad.
Good job! I like a good mystery story.
Used to sneek in the movies through a fire escape door,after it had been opened from inside.Good one.
I did not know that, but it makes sense to me now!
I must have my Sherlock Holmes hat on today. I got this one!
omg do harder ones
these are so lame
Then don't read them.
I can't help it I just click on ones that I think will be good and then I read it and think i wonder who wrote this?
I did.
It was quite hard
Well.... you got me on that one Dolphingurl!!! The "4 ft. away" detail threw me off, so I never even thought about the fire escape door!! So I say GREAT JOB!!!
On a roll! Didn't need the hint but i checked anyway to c if it would confirm my suspicions! Great 1 dolphingurl!
not all fire escapes are one way. This is especialy true with older buildings.
not all fire escapes are one way. This is especialy true with older buildings. He could have also pre set the fire escape door to be able to be opened from the outside before hand.
I thought since she saw the back of the person, she recognized the man or something... This was fun!
U r really good at mysteries, I've read a few you've done and I could only get one and that was because I read it in a magazine, but these r good.
I assumed the witness would have only seen the snatcher after the grab while heading away and the color of his shirt would not have been known.
Fun story.
Fun story.
I was also thinking along the lines of the snatchers clothing. Good teaser Dolphingurl!
i thought it was cuz if a guy was 4 feet behind her why wouldnt he help he like duh...Why would he just sit there and watch the person in front of him be mugged
That was easy if u read it good enuff but if u didnt kno that fire escape doors open from the inside only then u wouldnt have gotten it
good one! although i've never tried to go in (or out) of a fire escape door so i didn't know that... i thought it had something to do with whether or not she was holding bags when it happened or something...dunno totally wrong track i guess
Good mysteries reveal most if not all basic clues, the door opening from the inside, instead of the outside is not something that the writer had Reason or Cause to reveal. Its a good story, written carefully, but lacks Mysterious logic. Although the story lacks this reasoning, you had the ability to put it to paper to make it work or not. You did an excellent job. Good Teaser.
i thought the alarm would go off if a fire escape door was opened..
cool
I don't understand why the purse snatcher is so stupid as to stick around
Once he got the purse in his car, he should make his getaway
Once he got the purse in his car, he should make his getaway
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