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Woman Draws Beard On Her Face, Robs Gas Station

MODESTO (CBS13) - Oh the things you can do with a Sharpie these days.

Modesto police are searching for a woman who robbed a gas station dressed as a man, complete with a fake beard she had drawn on her face.

The heist took place at about 9:30 Wednesday night at the Chevron on Fifth Street.  The thinly disguised woman showed the clerk a gun and demanded money from him.

"He was like 'No, no it's a real beard.' I was like 'No, it's definitely a fake beard drawn on,'" said Rahda Sharma, the station's owner.

Cops said the bearded bandit not only tried to look like a man, but she tried to sound tough, too, by deepening her voice.

She only got away with a small amount of cash before pedaling off on her getaway bike.

"We were upset of course, but it was also kind of like, wow, this is like the wildest thing probably we've seen here," said Sharma.

It was a first, even for seasoned cops.

"I used to say that nothing would surprise me, but this, this has surprised me," said Sgt. Rick Applegate of the Modesto Police Dept.

Even though it's a pretty good disguise, it may be hard to scrub off the scruff.

"If anyone sees a woman that matches this description, that has some dark black marks on her face or it looks like she painted her face, there's a pretty good chance that could be our suspect," said Applegate.

Officers believe the woman may be local and likely has some signs of marker left on her face still. She's described as about 5'5" tall with dark eyes, and was wearing a dark knit cap and dark baggy clothing.

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