Denton police are asking for help finding three people they say drained a 78-year-old woman’s bank account after stealing her checkbook.

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Surveillance video shows three people Denton police are seeking.

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The woman reported that she was shopping Aug. 18 at a supermarket on Loop 288. While she was in the toothpaste aisle, she bent over to find an item she wanted on the bottom shelf. She said a woman walked up behind her and asked her a question about toothpaste. When she stood up, she realized the woman was gone.

Then she noticed that her wallet was missing, the report states.

She contacted her bank and canceled her credit cards. But three checks already had been forged from her checkbook totaling $1,600 at two local discount and home improvement stores, leaving her account with a balance of less than $10.

Police obtained surveillance footage from one of the stores and have identified three people they believe are connected to the incident, the report states.

Anyone with information about this incident should contact police investigator Brandon S. Hobon at 940-349-7994 or brandon.hobon@cityofdenton.com .

Other reports

3800 block of Morse Street — A business supervisor reported Tuesday that someone broke into a building that houses fleet vehicles the night before.

The supervisor said whoever broke in had to somehow get through two locked gates along an 8-foot-tall fence to get to the building. Evidence suggests the burglar or burglars found a pickax and used it to pry open the back door.

The supervisor reported that toolboxes on several vehicles inside had been opened and his office had been rifled. A large amount of power and hand tools was stolen, including one machine that is worth $7,000, according to the report.

The burglars loaded the equipment into a 2005 Chevrolet 2500 pickup and drove away, the supervisor told police.

400 block of Mack Drive — An out-of-state marriage ended with the wife leaving and taking her husband’s money with her, according to a report released Wednesday.

The man said he met the woman online and they recently married in Las Vegas, but they immediately began having problems. She moved out Aug. 24, he said.

He reported he recently discovered that she forged his name to cash a check made out to him. She deposited $1,000 into his account and took the rest, according to the report.

Roundup

From 7 a.m. Tuesday to 7 a.m. Wednesday:

• Denton police handled 320 service and officer-initiated calls, including one case of possession of drug paraphernalia, one forgery, three thefts, two home burglaries, one aggravated assault, one building burglary, one sexual assault, one vehicle burglary, two reports of fraud, one missing person, one runaway, three reports of criminal mischief, one report of lost property and one case of harassment.

• Denton County sheriff’s deputies took reports of one theft, one vehicle burglary, two cases of debit card abuse and one fraud.

• Denton firefighters responded to 15 medical calls, one citizen complaint, two traffic accidents, one oil spill, one alarm, one request to assist an invalid and one medical rescue.

Argyle firefighters responded to two medical calls, one request to assist a citizen and one smoke investigation.

Aubrey firefighters responded to three medical calls and one request to assist a citizen.

Krum firefighters responded to one request to unlock a vehicle.

Lake Cities firefighters responded to one alarm, two medical calls, one overdose and one vehicle fire.

Pilot Point firefighters responded to one medical call.

Sanger firefighters responded to one medical call, one illegal burn and one request to unlock a vehicle.

DONNA FIELDER can be reached at 940-566-6885. Her e-mail address is dfielder@dentonrc.com .

Denton County Crime Stoppers will pay a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest in these or other crimes. Callers will remain anonymous. Call 1-800-388-TIPS (8477). To receive crime alerts in your area, visit CrimeWeb.net. Reach the Denton police narcotics tip line at 940-565-5801.