A months-long theft spree culminates in an arrest following a Build-A-Bear purchase

Bloomington, Indiana – A Bloomington woman was arrested for a six-month string of thefts, including taking a debit card at a funeral ceremony, while attempting to accrue reward points at Build-A-Bear Workshop.

Amy Michelle Dowden, 38, was apprehended after making an S72.76 transaction at the Build-A-Bear store in Bloomington College Mall using a stolen debit card. According to police, the case was solved in large part because Dowden gave her name and email address for a rewards program during the purchase.

Court filings state that Dowden reportedly presented herself to another attendee at a funeral at the Funeral Chapel and said her mother knew the deceased, which is when the crime allegedly took place. Later, the victim found that several cards, S70 in cash, and a family member’s debit card—which had been used at Build-A-Bear—were missing.

The results of the investigation showed that this occurrence was part of a wider criminal pattern. Several thefts between April and October 2024 are described in court documents, including:

• Fraudulent use of an elderly woman’s credit card for Duke Energy payments

• Multiple thefts at the Monroe County Public Library

• Several incidents on Bloomington Transit buses

• Unauthorized purchases at various locations, including Domino’s Pizza, DoorDash, Hardee’s, Amazon, Harbor Freight, Kroger, and Walmart

Only nine of the 28 unlawful transactions that Dowden attempted, totaling $7,744.22, were successful in one noteworthy instance.

Dowden is currently being detained in the Monroe County Jail.