Woodinville Panhandler Is Pretend Mom, Police Say

WOODINVILLE, WA - Police recently interrupted a panhandler who was pretending to be a mother, they say, and are advising residents who want to help the homeless to donate to charity instead.

The woman was panhandling near the intersection of Northeast 175th Street and 131st Avenue Northeast recently standing with a stroller and holding a sign that read, "Homeless with my son, anything helps," Woodinville police say.

Police say that a concerned citizen called police to ask them to check on the woman and her baby since temperatures were around freezing. When they arrived, they discovered that the stroller was empty.

"The young lady had dressed up a stroller to look as though there was a living and breathing baby under the blankets. Simply put, she was duping the unsuspecting public into believing she was a struggling, homeless and desperate, mother," police wrote in a Facebook post about the incident.

Police also said that there's a panhandling scheme active in the area involving real children, but fake parents. Police say that they have discovered women with infants - 6 to 9 months old - working different street corners asking for money. While doing a welfare check on one of these women, a man cam to pick her up, and police believe it's part of an operation involving Romanian immigrants operating out of the SeaTac area.

Woodinville police advise that residents give money to local homeless outreach organizations like Mary's Place, Wellspring Family Services, and Sold Ground rather than directly on the street.

Image via Woodinville police