Betty Reid Soskin, a 93-year-old park ranger, was robbed and beaten by a thief, who got away with her most prized possession – a gold coin given to her by President Obama. POTUS has learned of the incident and offered to replace Reid Soskin’s coin.
Betty Reid Soskin, who has been given the title of the oldest National Park Service Ranger in the United States, has become somewhat of a celebrity, which would explain why robbers targeted her.
In the early hours of Monday, a man broke into Soskin’s Richmond, California home as she was sleeping and physically assaulted her. The burglar punched the 93-year-old several times and left her with a bruised face, split lip before grabbing several items including an iPad, laptop computer, jewelry, and cell phone.
The criminal also got away with numerous commemorative coins that Soskin had earned in her career including the special one given to her by President Obama. The woman said she hid in the bathroom holding an iron to defend herself. Eventually, the dangerous man left, and she called 911. Soskin talked to local media saying:
“I don’t even like to look at myself in the mirror at this point because I still have a couple black eyes and one is still marked. My lips were split in a couple of places.”
She added:
“I woke up to a man holding a small flashlight, I grabbed my cell phone, but he fought me for the phone. I was then dragged from the bed through the hallway. I was terrified. I was terrified. Nothing else I could think of was to scream and scream and scream”
She described the suspect as a man in his late teens or early 20s with a thin-to-medium build. Lt. Felix Tan, a spokesman for Richmond Police Department, said that they are hoping that the public will help capture the criminal and added that they believe that Soskin might have been targeted because there has been no similar incident recently in the community. Tan added:
“It’s really unfortunate. It’s sickening.”
President Obama has learned of the attack and will send Soskin another coin. Tom Leatherman, a superintendent of the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, where Soskin works, said that she has refused to go the hospital, and added:
“It’s pretty disturbing. It’s been pretty emotional for all of us who work with Betty.”
Leatherman has also launched an online fundraiser via The Rosie the Riveter park to help compensate for her lost items.
” man in his late teens or early 20s with a thin-to-medium build.”
Sure, that will help ID the suspect. It’s almost as if the PD spokesbot and newspaper would rather the perp got away.