A woman missing for two weeks and found safe Tuesday night was bilked by her grandson for more than $46,000 from a retirement account, the man's arrest report states.
Neighbors and family had not heard from Alice Edge, 67, for two weeks, and the Tampa Police Department opened a missing person's case on her Tuesday.
Police arrested her grandson Philip Little, 28, about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at North Florida Avenue and West Hillsborough Avenue. He had been staying with Edge at her North Ola Avenue home since the spring.
Little, who originally was from Michigan, was arrested on a charge of theft from a person 65 or older and three counts of defrauding a pawnbroker.
Little convinced Edge several times to withdraw money from a retirement account, giving her the impression the money was going to pay a child-support warrant, the police department said.
Instead, he used the money to buy merchandise, police said. In all, he took $46,040 from Edge's account, police said.
Also, on March 26, April 6 and April 9, Little pawned items stolen from his grandmother, the arrest report said.
Police said Edge was found safe Tuesday, however, no one answered the door at her house this morning.
Neighbors said it was unusual for Edge to leave without telling anyone. Pat Harding, a friend of 14 years, said she visited Edge's house three times last week to check on her and found no sign of the woman.
Harding, of Tampa, said Edge would contact her when she was traveling and ask her for a ride to the airport to leave her car at home to give the appearance that someone was there.
Harding said she met Little and found him to be pleasant. He had left Michigan because there was no work, Hardin said.
He moved to Tampa from Galveston, Texas, where he had worked in construction. Before Galveston, he lived in New Orleans and worked in construction, she said.
Little is being held on $30,000 bail at the Orient Road Jail.
