Just this afternoon, DH and I were in the grocery store and walked by a well-to-do lady who had her open purse lying in the cart 6 feet from where she was looking at cheese. I walked by and saw it and told my DH she was lucky I was not a crook or I could have walked off with it and she would not have known.
Sorry your moms purse was stolen, but I am glad she was not harmed in the process.