A grandmother now involved in a national manhunt spotted her victim at a Florida pub.
Newly released surveillance footage shows 56-year-old Minnesotan Lois Reiss, also known as “Losing Streak Lois,” flipping her blonde hair, smiling, and chatting up Pamela Hutchinson at Smokin’ Oyster Brewery in Fort Myers, Florida, on April 5.
According to The Star Tribune, Reiss targeted Hutchinson, a 59-year-old car saleswoman, due to their uncanny resemblance. Hutchinson, who was in the area to help a friend cope with the death of a late husband according to The News Press, never made it home to Bradenton, Florida. Authorities say Reiss killed Hutchinson and stole her identity, after shooting her repeatedly and leaving her body in a Fort Myers Beach hotel.
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“She smiles and looks like anyone’s mother or grandmother, but she’s calculating, she’s targeting and she’s an absolute cold-blood killer,” Carmine Marceno, a deputy sheriff Lee County, Florida, told reporters.
For about three weeks, police and U.S Marshals Service have led a national manhunt for the suspect and on Monday, the case went cold.
Authorities say Reiss, who was last seen in Corpus Christi, Texas, is considered “armed and dangerous” and may not be finished with her killing spree.
According to police, Reiss stole Hutchinson’s credit cards, driver’s license, cash and white Acura. During a press conference on Friday, Lee County Undersheriff said “Reiss’ mode of operation is to befriend women who look like her and steal their identity.”
In an interview with WTVR, the victim’s family members read the final text messages of the slain relative. Hutchinson’s cousin, Daniele Jeffreys, remembered her cousin’s kindness.
“She befriended this woman. The woman probably gave her some sob story,” Jeffreys later told WTVR. “My cousin went out helping the world… She’s just giving to a fault. To her death.”
The Dodge County Attorney’s Office is also preparing second-degree murder charges against Reiss in the death of her husband, David. Last month, Reiss allegedly fatally shot David and left his body in a worm farm, according to authorities.
“Investigators believe Pamela Hutchinson may have been killed with the same firearm used to murder David Riess. Investigators are not aware of any connection between Lois Riess and Hutchinson,” the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension wrote in a Facebook post.
Last month Reiss, who has a gambling addiction according to the U.S. Marshall Service, allegedly transferred $11,000 from her husband’s account into her personal account, according to theft charges filed in Minnesota. As investigators continue to search for “Losing Streak Lois,” new information about her manipulative past has resurfaced. Reiss stole more than $78,000 from her disabled sister who suffers from bipolar disorder, clinical depression, and Parkinson’s disease, spending much of it at casinos.
Officials say she was last seen Sunday near Corpus Christi, Texas.
