A woman used a phony $100 bill to pay for Girl Scout cookies and made off with the change before the Scout’s mother determined the currency was counterfeit, police said.
Katie Lundquist’s delight at selling 10 boxes of cookies quickly turned to disappointment.
“Sometimes you can’t trust just anybody,” the 10-year-old told The Olympian for Monday’s editions.
Michelle Lundquist said she and her daughter were about to finish selling cookies at Dave’s Marketplace on Sunday when a woman asked to buy $40 worth. The woman handed Katie a $100 bill, and her mother made change with some $20 bills from her pocket.
“I was just being nice,” Michelle Lundquist said. “It’s the Girl Scouts thing to do.”
She suspected the bill might be fake and asked the grocery manager for help, but the woman left while it was being checked with a counterfeit-detector pen.
Surveillance tapes from video cameras outside the store were being examined, police Lt. Robin Ayers said.
The Girl Scouts Pacific Peaks Council will make up the loss after receiving the police report, said Dorothy Nelson, the council’s communication and marketing director.