Man who allegedly dragged Whangārei shopkeeper alongside car yet to be found

Jeffrey Bedwell, co-owner of Corner Cardz 'n' Magz, whose wife was injured after a confrontation with an alleged shoplifter. Photo / Michael Cunningham

A man is still on the loose and a woman is in hospital after a shoplifting incident that turned into an alleged hit and run.

Jeffrey Bedwell, co-owner of Corner Cardz 'n' Magz on Maunu Rd, is keen to locate the man who allegedly injured his wife, Elizabeth Bedwell, on Saturday while attempting to escape with stolen sweets.

"We get quite a few shoplifters. We expect about one a week, they normally just take lollies," Jeffrey told the Advocate.

On Saturday evening, a man came into the shop shortly before 6pm, picked up a tin of sweets and left without paying, Jeffrey said.

On this occasion, however, the man allegedly reacted violently when Elizabeth followed him to a waiting car and confronted him over shoplifting.

Jeffrey was serving customers on the other side of the counter when the sweets were stolen and was initially unaware Elizabeth had gone outside.

"She tried to open the (car) door, she reaches in to grab the lollies, he grabs her arm and yells to the driver to drive away," he said.

At that point, the female driver took off and did a U-turn, dragging Elizabeth across the street. The man then let go of her arm, leaving her to fall onto the street.

Jeffrey said shoplifting happened all the time and people were seldom prosecuted.

"The police don't care - the silly thing was when he grabbed her arm."

He was unaware what was unfolding outside while he was serving customers in the shop.

"A customer came in and said: 'What are you doing? Your wife's lying in the road, she's been hit by a car.'

"They very kindly stopped anyone else coming into the shop. I went out and called the ambulance."

Jeffrey acknowledged leaving the shop without telling him and confronting the offender was not what Elizabeth should have done in that situation.

Elizabeth remained in hospital with a concussion and was still unable to speak on Monday.

She was kept in hospital because of her difficulty forming words and because they wanted her to have an MRI scan.

Jeffrey said she would likely be recovering at home for several weeks, and he hoped there would be no lasting damage from the incident but was unsure.

He said their customers had been very supportive, as was the Lotto head office when he rang them to say they would have to close early on Saturday.

"There's been lots of support on a Facebook post on our Cardz 'n' Magz page ... a customer brought in flowers for her."

The shop's security cameras captured the car, a black sedan, but the angle of the camera meant the registration plate was not visible.

They also have clear footage of the alleged shoplifter inside. He was a Caucasian man in his 50s or 60s, and was wearing a red hoodie.

A petrol station on the other side of the road also had CCTV footage, but also did not capture the licence plate.

The driver of the car was a Māori woman in her 30s, Jeffrey said.

He said the two - believed to be a couple - were regulars in the block of shops, and were recognised by other nearby shopkeepers.

Police said inquiries into the incident were ongoing and no arrests had yet been made.

On Sunday, they appealed for any witnesses to the incident to come forward with information.

Police said at the time they understand a man of a medium build, in his 50s-60s with dark hair, glasses and dark-coloured clothing entered a store and allegedly took some items and left to get in a black sedan parked outside.

A staff member attempted to recover the stolen items from inside the vehicle when they were knocked over. They were transported to hospital in a serious condition.

Anyone who could help was asked to call police on 105 and quote file number 220918/8909.

At the time, police said Elizabeth was in a serious condition, later updating it to stable.