As I reported on Saturday morning, the individual that ran with a stolen bib in Friday’s Disneyland 5k was positively identified as the same individual that ran with a stolen bib on Tinkerbell weekend earlier this year.
Disneyland 5k Bib Reported Stolen – Photos Show a Familiar Suspect
The below video (posted with permission) shows the runner approaching the finish line and Anaheim Police and race security detaining her after yesterday’s Disneyland 10k. She was able to be detained on the course based on information that was relayed to Run Disney officials regarding her identity. These details were included on the article I posted yesterday.
- Patricia (Patty) was never accused of running with a stolen bib for the 10k. The bib that was stolen was for the 5k only. She was able to be identified in the following day’s race because she was running with her own bib. I was in direct contact with Melissa (the true bib owner) and she relayed the evidence that was gathered positively identifying Patty as the woman that ran with her. There was some confusion regarding a report appearing on San Diego 10 News where they initially reported that she was accused of stealing the 10k (Double Dare) bib.
- She has not been charged with a crime at this point related to the bib theft. She was escorted to her car, at which point she was cited for parking in a handicapped space using someone else’s placard (as reported by San Diego 10 News)
- I have not confirmed with Run Disney directly but I have heard from a few different sources that Patty was banned from all future Run Disney events and Disney properties. I will update the article once I get confirmation that this is the case. Despite being banned from the races, she was reportedly not asked to turn over her bib after being detained. She was signed up for the Double Dare which includes Sunday morning’s 1/2 marathon. The bib she wore yesterday also serves as the bib for the 1/2 marathon. Theoretically, she could attempt to run this morning’s race if she is still in possession of the bib.
- According to Melissa, Patty claimed that she purchased the bib online and that she was not the one that picked it up at the expo. In my opinion, this is unlikely in that the method in which this bib was stolen is identical to what was reported with the bib she wore at Tinkerbell.
I will be posting a detailed summary of all the work that went into identifying her, and locating her on the course during the 10k. It took efforts of quite a few people to keep the lid on this between Friday morning and the start of Saturday’s race. We wanted to keep this information quiet up to that point so that Run Disney officials could identify her at Saturday’s race. Had this information been public before then, it would be unlikely that she would have been apprehended.
To support the site, and my efforts to keep race results clean, and hold participants and race officials accountable, please consider a small contribution.
Incredible work! Bravo!
We’ve taken to criminalizing running events. I’m not sure how I feel about this. I do not condone her, honestly, bizarre conduct, but I don’t think handcuffing by police and public humiliation is the best way to go about this behavior. Ban her from any Disney race and maybe take action to recoup costs. This too far for me. Just my opinion.
She essentially committed identity theft by posing as another runner and signing that woman’s name on the bib release binder as well as submitting her race waiver with a forged signature. She’s honestly lucky that all she got was a police escort from the finish line. It really should be so much worse for her.
No, Terry, we have not taken to criminalizing running events. It’s called theft. Lisa, below, said it much better than I.
But consider: how much does that Disney 5K cost? Given that it’s Disney, I imagine it’s close to $100. Say you order and pay for a nice (drill? power saw?) from Home Depot, go to pick it up, and are told Sorry, it’s already been picked up. What would YOU do? It’s just a tool… right? It’s only a hundred bucks… right? No, I thought so: you’d want your product and want to identify and apprehend those involved.
Same thing. A thief is a thief. I have no sympathy. She can’t claim that she’s poor and can’t afford the “high cost” of running; the fact that she was registered legitimately for the 10K and Half shows enough disposable income for the recreation of her choice. And apparently that recreation of choice includes participating in events not properly registered for, potentially cutting courses, and outright theft of others’ properties, i.e., race bibs.
Sociopathy is a big component to “white-collar” type thievery. Her demeanor during the entire video, where she keeps moving, not looking at Security, suggests she knows damn well what she’s doing.
And that’s why many of us appreciate the work Derek does, trying to keep honesty a part of our own honorable recreation of choice.
What does banning her from future races do if she just steals someone else’s bib anyway?
Trespassing.
This is fraud to the tune of $150 not to mention the stress caused to the genuine runner who may have planned a whole trip to Disney to go run this race. I believe the actions taken are completely appropriate if not a little lenient.
She stole something somebody else had paid for. That’s criminal theft. Cut and dry. And there’s really no practical way you can apprehend her without some sort of public scene.
It’s not such a big deal. She’s a shoplifter and they’ll probably charge her with misdemeanor petty theft, assuming all bibs totaled are under $1k in value. Trying to “recoup costs” is a no-win for Disney; it makes them look like the big bad wolf, and they’d pay employees well over $100 in effort to undertake any action.
Actually she is lucky that is all she got was handcuffed and escorted to her illegally parked car (in a handicap spot no less). May we should let that go as well. Of course, I would blow up her picture and put it at the entrance of every expo and bib pick up with a detailed explanation as to who she is and warn people not to be this person. Too far, lol.
To me, the identity theft is the bigger issue that I hope they can prosecute to the fullest extent.
The disgust and revulsion I feel toward people like her could heat a thousand powerful suns. Just what do they think they’re trying to prove?
And while it’s unlikely I ever would, there would be no way in hell I’d drop good money on a Disney event ever after reading about its races here.
You missed the part where she was cited for parking in a handicapped spot, NOT for stealing another runner’s bib. Maybe read the article first before responding. Either way her actions suggest she is a total scumbag in every aspect of her life.
Dearest boo berry Terry. You are wrong if you think it’s ok to break the law.
And illegally parking in a accessible spot….. winner.
Terry,
The problem here is she stole the bib for the 5k race. Should we look the other way whenever someone steal property at a store? I don’t understand your train of thought.
Well done, Derek! Glad you & the rest of the online sleuths were able to not only catch her but see to it that she faces some consequences for her actions.
@Terry, I understand where you are coming from but this woman basically stole Melissa’s identity. She forged her name and had her birthdate. She printed Melissa’s waiver and signed as Melissa.
If all these allegations can be proven, and especially if there’s an accomplice at Disney helping identify targets, everyone should be charged with the highest charge that will stick.
The fact she used someone else’s handicapped tag is just an amazing flourish on this person’s issues. Incredible.
There is no evidence of “identity theft” here. I think Patty deserves all the negative attention and shame, along with any justice that Disney and the police can issue.
However, let’s be realistic about how easy this is to pull off. You need social media. That’s it. Find a RunDisney Running group. Find people that post there. Look at their profiles – birthdays are fairly common knowledge. Check online for waivers before arriving. It is that easy. If you think a volunteer might decline, have a few names/birthdates/waivers. Try your “my husband has my ID in his backpack” story a few times until it works.
Again, she is a loser. But this is not a complicated crime. There are no insiders or accomplices.
EJ
By identity theft, Lisa was probably referring to how Patty pretended to be Melissa.
What?
A) TEXTBOOK identity theft. It’s also a very broad crime. (A server that changes the tip on a restaurant receipt is committing identity theft, for example.)
B) There is no way you can know if she is acting alone, unless you know her and how she did it.
Sometimes people show up here supporting the person Derek outs. This could be one of those times.
It actually bothers me a lot that there might be people skimming info from runners at the Expo and giving it to friends. I agree, it’s not complicated. It definitely gives me pause as Disney doesn’t really seem to be that interested in clamping down on rule breakers, how are they with internal security that doesn’t involve cash handling?
It’s a good question, but as cons go, this one is short and easy. The target (the person giving out the bibs) would be put in that position due to their friendly and positive nature. That means they will be very soft. If you go early, it will be packed, and time pressure becomes an ally. That isn’t to say she didn’t have help, but she’s ripped off bibs all over SoCal.
I don’t know if Disney isn’t interested in clamping down, or that it would require intruding on their culture of service. It’s a big operation, inside a gigantic operation, that is defined by that culture and they are probably hesitant to release the squad of soup nazis it would require. rD races also attract a different element due to their nature. Slower minimum paces, plus on-course distractions, plus high prices, plus Disney fanatics=all sorts of weirdness (especially regarding corrals).
I’ve run them on both coasts (guilty fanatic here), and it’s been pretty tight, but that’s just me. I’ve always been asked for my ID, but I know others haven’t.
People who park in handicap spots when they are not handicapped are the fucking scum of the earth. Especially when you’re parking to go RUN a race.
Interesting. A fine, thin line between the malevolent and the ignorant.
We trust social media sites and leave our information lying out on the ground, so to speak.
Think twice before posting your intentions or your bib number.
We’re assuming you need someone’s birthday, but that might not be the case. (I don’t recall it being matched to anything when I’ve done rD races, but I’m not sure.) I won’t go into it here, b you don’t even need social media.
EJ,
Good to know it’s not identity theft if I can get the first few threads about you on social media and pull them. What else can she get with her name and birthday, and now whatever other content might be on her paperwork and waiver? Hint, a birthday is considered PII, personally identifiable information, and is a field that if your retailer of choice loses to a hack they can be in a world of hurt.
I guess you don’t know much about social engineering, or identity theft. If I were you I’d take a look at your accounts because it sounds like they’re not locked down.
And you know she doesn’t have help, how?
Sorry this is off topic and really unimportant, but… I just noticed her legit bib, and she’s A corral? Umm… no. (Of course, with her handicapped parking and everything else, I am Jack’s complete lack of surprise.)
She used someone else’s time with the same name (but 4 years younger) for Proof of Time. Someone mentioned she’s more of a 2:30 to 3 hour half marathoner.
I shouldn’t be surprised she had a handicap placard! I bet she bought that placard online!
I was told Disney race medals are hot sellers online, mainly to Disney collectors. A search of completed ebay auctions showed a 2017 Disneyland Half being sold for $80. Maybe part of her motive for stealing?
I have a lot of respect for Marathon Investigation and the work that is done for Boston. I seem to remember a story a few months ago where Mr Murphy was very upset when people figured out who a runner was and went after them on the internet. While I am absolutely disgusted by what this woman did (on the course and the parking lot) the fact that people followed this woman on the course and then celebrated it (you can hear “this is awesome” in the background) is immature and dangerous. I was very surprised to see Marathon Investigation partake in this type of behavior and am unsure why the race director, Disney security or the police weren’t notified privately instead of having a group of people exploit the situation for their own enjoyment.
We worked very hard to keep this private so that the officials and police could do their job. There were literally the 2 runners on the course that were looking for her. Had the race officials not been able to spot her these runners would have pointed Patty out to them. While I was in a large part responsible for the race officials and police knowing who to look for, the others involved probably would have spotted her anyhow. Others identified the the 5k runner as Patty on their own.
Before the 10k there was a large effort by the few in the know to keep this off of social media so that there wouldn’t be dozens (or hundreds) trying to hunt her down during the race.
The owners of A couple Disney groups knew ahead of time in order to keep the information out of social media in part to prevent a mob trying to spot Patty at the 10k.
What a snowflake! The disgusting behavior is this woman who stole bibs from multiple Disney races AND misused a handicap placard!!
In CA here are the penalties for the misuse of a handicap placard. I hope she gets both jailed and fined! She deserves it!!
There are two potential kinds of penalties for violating Vehicle Code 4461.
If you are charged with this offense, you may receive only a civil fine that is comparable to a parking ticket. This fine will be between two hundred fifty dollars ($250) and one thousand dollars ($1,000).3
OR you may be charged with illegal use of a disabled placard as a California misdemeanor.
In this case, you could face the criminal penalties of up to six (6) months in county jail, and/or a criminal fine of between two hundred fifty ($250) and one thousand dollars ($1,000).4
Its amazing listening to these people who think things went too far. I’ve had my identity stolen, and its not fun. She’s getting off easy if there are no charges for identity theft (or California’s version of it) or petty larceny. The handicapped parking issue is the real icing on her cake.
Great work Derek.
It’s not like she stole the identity, went to Disney and charged $10,000 on a credit card. Identity theft to run a race? I get the handicap plate charge, but a little crazy for identity theft for a race bib. Just my humble opinion.
The other crime committed here is that the videographer made a vertical video. C’mon man! Turn that phone on its side!
Sad that running has become a big business and Run Disney is now a huge business.
Comments are closed.