By Brad Segall

WHITPAIN TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) — Police in Montgomery County, Pa. are asking for help from the public as they try to track down a Philadelphia woman whom they say ripped off an elderly man who lives in Whitpain Township by preying on his sympathies.

Police have been looking for 22-year-old Tiffany Mitchell since November, when they issued an arrest warrant charging her with felony theft and related offenses.

Sgt. Cathy Penecale says Mitchell befriended the 89-year-old man nearly a year ago, “and immediately explained to him that she needed a kidney transplant, she had a surgery, there were complications, and began to bilk him of approximately $38,000.”

Police say she also convinced him to take out a loan to buy a new Mercedes-Benz, valued at $60,000, because she didn’t have any transportation.

Police asked Mitchell to turn herself in and return the car. She had the car towed to Whitpain, but she never showed up. Her last known address is the 900 block of North Penn Street in Philadelphia.

Read the KYW Regional Affairs Council Series, “Senior Scams — How to Protect Your Parents”