VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – A Florida woman may be stranded in the resort city of Virginia Beach after someone stole her wallet.

Leslie Perez is in Virginia Beach to visit her sick mother. She’s supposed to fly back on Saturday but she may not be able to board the plane.

Perez is hoping a thief will have a change of heart.  

She went shopping with her family on Thursday at a Dollar Tree off Holland Road.  

“I was at the register finishing my purchase but I had bought them ice cream but they were riled up and wanting their ice cream right then and there,” Perez said.

Distracted, Perez walked off and accidentally left her wallet behind at the register. It wasn’t until she went to another store, she realized the wallet was missing.

Perez retraced her steps and a day later, a Dollar Tree employee gave her some disheartening news. 

“She called me back and told me she seen the video and she saw the woman behind me take my wallet,” Perez said.

In the video, you see Perez walk off while the next customer, a woman, steps up to the cashier. A few seconds later, the woman grabs the wallet and places it inside her own bag.

“I was hurt because she saw me. She was behind me and she saw that I was struggling with the girls,” Perez said. “I just feel like she had so much opportunity to either stop me or even give it to the cashier.”

Perez is in Virginia Beach to care for her sick mother. She was supposed to fly back to Florida on Saturday.

We reached out to TSA and a spokesperson tells 10 On Your Side, passengers without ID must fill out a form and answer questions to confirm their identity. If and when an ID is verified, they’ll be screened through security and can then board the plane.

Perez hopes whoever took her wallet will do the right thing.

“Drop it off somewhere, bring it back to the Dollar Tree, bring it to the police department, bring it wherever you can to be able to allow me to go back home,” she said.

The wallet is described as a blush-colored Michael Kors wristlet and a police report was filed. If you know where this wallet is or you find it, you can contact Perez via email at leslie4aperez@yahoo.com.

For more information on what to do if you’re traveling and in a similar situation, click here