US tourist who grabbed alleged pickpocketer by ponytail in Venice, Italy eventually got passport & credit cards back

An American tourist in Italy stunned crowds in Venice when she confronted an alleged pickpocket in an unconventional way – grabbing her by the ponytail.

Her daughter, Karis McElroy, uploaded two videos about the incident on TikTok, the first video posted on Aug. 15 showing the confrontation and the second video posted on Aug. 17 explaining in detail how her mother and stepfather held the alleged thieves accountable and tried to get their belongings back.

Her mother who is from North Carolina eventually got her passport and credit cards back though her AirPods and around S$200 cash are supposedly still missing.

Grabbing alleged thief's ponytail

According to the first video, McElroy's mother and stepfather were in Venice looking for their hotel when her mother's purse was stolen out of her zipped up book bag.

McElroy's mother grabbed the alleged thief by the ponytail and dragged her through a crowd in Venice. The teen girl could be heard speaking in Italian, to which McElroy's mother responded while still grabbing her ponytail: "You stole my purse with my passport!"

The teen girl started screaming: "Police! Police!"

However, McElroy's mother did not let go of her hair and said: "I have eight kids, you’re not getting to me."

The teen then told McElroy's mother to "calm down" and another person in the video could be heard telling the girl "you're the one stealing".

McElroy's mother then said: "That's right, let's get the police and maybe I'll get my passport back."

Another girl accompanying the alleged thief tried covering the camera with her hand at the end of the video.

Tracking items

In the second video, McElroy explains how her mother and stepfather tried to get her belongings back.

She said her mother and stepfather were in Venice to go on a Mediterranean cruise.

Her mother and stepfather were trying to find their Airbnb while pulling their luggage on the streets and her mother was carrying a book bag. They then crossed a bridge which was very crowded and McElroy's mother was surrounded by three girls who were slowing her down.

After they crossed the bridge, they reached the door to their Airbnb and entered it. After they entered, McElroy's mother found that her book bag was unzipped with her purse and metal water bottle gone. Her purse contained her passport, credit cards, cash and AirPods.

Her mother realised she could track her purse containing her AirPods through its “Find My Friends” feature. She went back outside with McElroy's stepfather, Patrick, who started tracking her purse.

McElroy said her mother had a feeling the three girls she encountered on the crowded bridge were the alleged pickpockets as she knew to look out for pickpockets in Venice.

Recovering items

McElroy's mother told her over text later that she was so angry and went after the three girls, grabbing the ponytail of the girl her mother identified as the youngest in the group and refused to let the girl go.

One girl ran away with her mother's purse while another girl stayed with the teen.

McElroy's mother said that for 50 minutes, the teen was screaming and cursing at her and her mother would scream back and pull harder on the teen's hair.

Her mother added that there were huge crowds around videoing everything and cheering her mother on as pickpockets are so bad in that area. The man who ran the Airbnb called the police who according to McElroy's mother, took a long time to arrive. Meanwhile, she said the Airbnb host and owners of the jewellery shop next door stayed to keep the girls accountable.

When the police arrived, McElroy's mother released the girl's hair and she said the two girls went crazy, kicking and fighting with the police.

According to McElroy, the girls were well-known for allegedly being pickpockets and people who lived in Venice knew who they were as they were causing a lot of trouble.

McElroy said her mother did not care about anything except getting her passport back so she could get home.

Alleged thief on streets again

When the police arrived to arrest the girls, McElroy's mother was standing behind them and the girl she did not have by the ponytail swung a cloth grocery bag containing her mother's metal water bottle, hitting her on the head and face.

McElroy's mother told her over text that she was bleeding so much to the point that her bra was soaked with blood. She ended up with a gash and massive black eye from the injury and needed stitches.

The girls were eventually arrested.

The third girl who ran away took a train to the airport and left the purse with the passport and credit card inside at the US liaison office.

However, Italian outlet Il Messaggero reported that the girl, 14, who was grabbed by the ponytail and subsequently arrested, was released on bail just two days later. 

Top photos via Karis McElroy's TikTok