'Kind of scared me:' West Allis girl's library card stolen, used to check out 41 items in her name



Sha'kiya Hanson



CUDAHY -- A fraud investigation in Cudahy got its start in a surprising place, and the victim could be left with hundreds of dollars in fines.

It started when a 12-year-old girl showed up at the West Allis Public Library to return some books, and when she reached into her pocket, she discovered her library card was missing.

Sha'kiya Hanson reads a lot of stories, but she didn't expect to become the main character in one.

Sha'kiya Hanson



West Allis Public Library



"When I was looking for , I was like, 'it's not in my pocket.' I turned around to see where it was and it was gone," said Hanson.

She went back into the library and couldn't find her card. It would be days before the next plot twist; an email in her mom's inbox.



"I got the email and it said she had 14 DVDs taken out and I knew she didn't take nothing out that day," said Andrea Hanson.

Police later found out her card was being used by someone she didn't know at the library in Cudahy. Library staff discovered it had been used multiple times to check out 41 items in her name, including the thriller series "Death Note."

Cudahy Family Library



"It kind of scared me because the things he was getting were all horror movies and horror films and I was like, 'I don't know about this guy,'" said Sha'kiya Hanson.

Cudahy police released images of the man they say is the suspect in this case -- leaving the family with hundreds of dollars in overdue fines.





On Tuesday, April 17, the family was in the process of filing a police report with West Allis police because the card was taken from the library there. Until that process is complete, the family said they'll be on the hook for all the overdue fees.

FOX 6 reached out to West Allis Public Library, who did not return multiple calls. Cudahy Library did not comment on the story.