Detectives search for teens in Youfit Health Club's parking lot robbery

Grandmother says she wants lost boys who attacked her to find their way

MIAMI – Detectives were searching Friday for the teens accused of robbing a woman at the Youfit Health Club's parking lot near Miami's Little River neighborhood.

Liliana Hurtado was talking on her cellphone after exercising at the gym, near Biscayne Boulevard and 79th Street, when a teenage boy riding a BMX-style bicycle snatched it from her hand.

When the teen dropped the phone, Hurtado rushed to grab it from the ground, but another teenage boy, who was riding a similar bicycle, pushed her from behind.  

"I thought about my daughters, my grandkids," Hurtado said. "It was terrible ... Basically I am OK, but inside I am so nervous. I can't sleep. When I go out and I walk and I feel somebody behind me, I am so afraid."

Hurtado said the second teen took her phone, and a third teen who was with them left her injured on the ground. She said the trio fled westbound. 

Detectives were looking for suspects 13 to 16 years old. 

"I am so sad, because they are kids," Hurtado said.

The grandmother added she doesn't want to press charges against them. She just wants the lost boys to find their way, and she had a message for their parents: "You have to spend more time with your kids."

One of the boys was dressed in all white clothing. Another was wearing a beige and white hat, a gray sweatshirt, blue jeans and black sneakers. 

"Those kids are not being raised properly," said Larry Coleman, a Youfit Health Club member, after watching the surveillance video of the robbery. "They should be getting raised properly with their parents at home. That's the problem right there that we are having ... very sad."

Miami Police Department officers released the surveillance video of the Tuesday incident to the public and were asking anyone with information to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-5477.


About the Authors
Christian De La Rosa headshot

Christian De La Rosa joined Local 10 News in April 2017 after spending time as a reporter and anchor in Atlanta, San Diego, Orlando and Panama City Beach.

Andrea Torres headshot

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.

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