Durham, N.C. — Police on Thursday asked for public assistance in identifying a suspect in a credit card fraud case.

The victim was visiting a terminally ill child in at Duke University Hospital on April 25 when several credit cards were stolen from her purse, which had been left in a hospital room, police said.

The thief then ran up about $90,000 in charges on the cards at Belk, Wal-Mart, Apple and convenience stores in Durham, Raleigh, Wake Forest and Knightdale, police said.

In one store, a woman wearing blue hospital scrubs used the stolen credit cards on April 25 to purchase gift cards. She was described as black, in her late teens or 20s, with a light complexion and hair that was pulled back.

The same woman was seen later that weekend making additional purchases at the store.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Durham Police Investigator A.H. Holland Jr. at 919-560-4440 extension 254, Duke University Police Detective Sgt. Gary Smith at 919-684-6424 or Crime Stoppers at 919-683-1200.