Motel guests' wallets, phones taken while they slept in room

A woman was asleep in a Summit Township motel room on Monday night when she told the Pennsylvania State Police she was awakened by someone touching her.

She said she got out of bed and found an unknown male lying next to the bed. The male said he was friends with her roommate, the woman told troopers.

The male fled before the woman could ask her roommate if that was true, and as he did he is suspected of stealing property belonging to the couple, investigators wrote in a news release outlining the incident.

State police in Erie are still looking for the suspect, officials said Wednesday.

The two women told investigators they noticed their cellphone, a wallet, debit cards and cash were missing from their room following the incident, which state police said happened on Monday between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. at a motel in the 8000 block of Perry Highway. The stolen property was valued at nearly $1,100, investigators reported.

State police released a grainy image of a possible suspect that showed a male with what appears to be short hair and wearing a dark-colored short-sleeve shirt. No other description of the suspect was available Wednesday.

Anyone with information that could assist in the ongoing investigation is asked to call state police in Erie at 814-898-1641.

Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNhahn.