Ballarat police are calling for witnesses to two vicious daylight robberies earlier this week.
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In the first and most brutal of the two attacks, a 92-year-old woman was assaulted and her car stolen on the Winter Street side of Victoria Park on Wednesday.
The woman’s car, a 2012 Honda Jazz, was found burnt out in the Canadian State Forest on Thursday.
In a second attack, less than half an hour after the woman was robbed, a 15-year-old boy was robbed of his bag and wallet while walking home from a bus stop with his sister at Miners Rest.
Investigating police believe the two incidents are linked.
Ballarat Police Criminal Investigation Unit Detective Senior Constable Lee Tabbitt described the thefts as “opportunistic”, and said there could be up to four culprits involved in the offences.
Detective Senior Constable Tabbitt said the car was still in flames when police discovered it at 10am on Thursday morning behind the Pax Hill Scout Camp.
“We're looking for two male offenders in their late teens, one tall, one short, with dark clothing,” he said.
“The shorter one possibly has red hair.
“We're appealing for assistance in relation to locating any of those (culprits) or any information into the offences that have occurred here, at Miners Rest or the subsequent burning of the vehicle at East Ballarat in the Canadian State Forest.”
Detective Senior Constable Tabbitt said the Sebastopol woman, who was walking her dog, was uninjured after the altercation.
However, the woman has sustained emotional trauma after the larger of the two culprits put her in a bear hug, while the other frisked her jacket for the car keys behind a collection of trees.
Despite the incident taking place in broad daylight, Detective Senior Constable Tabbitt said Victoria Park remains a safe location for Ballarat residents.
“Yes it is (a safe typically safe location), these are one-off offences, they're opportunistic,” he said.
“Unfortunately it's occurred on this occasion to this elderly person.
“It's disappointing the vulnerable people in our community are subjected to this.
“It's concerning, but they're relatively unheard of... broad daylight at 3pm in the afternoon, we don't expect these offences and we probably don't quite get them at that time of the day.”