Student kidnapped, robbed of $200 by women in afternoon

University students might say they are usually "on guard" after dark in unfamiliar areas or when approached by suspicious-looking people. So when two innocent-looking women drove up to a College sophomore and asked her for directions while she walked near 38th and Chestnut streets Friday afternoon, she never imagined they would kidnap and rob her. The student described one woman as "motherly"-looking, and said she thought the other was a nurse. "I always thought that if I was robbed it would be by a man in a mask or something," the student said. At about 5:30 p.m. Friday, the two unarmed women grabbed her by the arm, forcing her into their beige Ford Escort and drove her to the Mellon Bank building at 36th and Walnut streets, police said. One of them stood outside while she withdrew $200 from her bank account, as per their instructions, according to police. After taking the money, the suspects instructed the student to walk north on 37th Street while they fled west on Walnut Street, police said. One suspect was described as a 5'4", 30-year-old black woman, weighing about 120 pounds and dressed in sweatclothes. The other suspect, also a black woman, was described as 5'6", weighing 150 pounds and wearing a black jacket and a white shirt. Police have not yet arrested any suspects in the robbery, but University Police Det. John Peterson said yesterday that he does have "a few suspects" in mind, explaining that he believes he has seen similar robberies and may be familiar with the women. "In my tenure I have seen this kind of thing," Peterson, a 17-year UPPD veteran, said of the robbery. "[The women] have had contact with the police." Friday's robbery loosely resembled two other recent incidents involving Penn students. On November 17, a College freshman told police he was kidnapped at 41st and Spruce streets in the wee hours of the morning and forced to withdraw $80 from a MAC machine at 52nd and Market streets. Another University student was forced to withdraw $380 from a MAC machine at 32nd and Market streets after being forced into a car early the morning of December 7 at 38th and Walnut streets. But Peterson, who said he is "still waiting to see the videotape" from surveillance cameras inside the Mellon Bank building, stressed that the robbery was "different" from such recent MAC robberies, although he would not elaborate on the differences. Several aspects of the robbery make it an anomaly. In addition to its afternoon timing and the fact that the suspects were females and unarmed, a security officer guarding the building told police investigating the scene that he "didn't see anyone in distress," Peterson said. The victim said she did not notice a security guard in the building. But according to Peterson, police responding to her initial call for help Friday afternoon immediately checked the bank and questioned the security guard.