These were descriptions employees at Pelzl’s Do It Best Hardware and Petro and Pantry passed on to Tonganoxie police officer Dustin Holladay. The woman used a counterfeit $20 bill to pay for items at Pelzl’s in downtown Tonganoxie. She attempted to use another $20 bill at Petro and Pantry, at Fourth and U.S. Highway 24-40, but an employee there noticed the bill looked suspicious and would not accept it as payment.

“They had the same serial number on both the bills,” Holladay said. “They were considerably smaller than a regular note.”

A Petro and Pantry employee told Holladay the woman headed east on U.S. Highway 24-40 from the gasoline station in a cream-colored sports utility vehicle.

Holladay contacted Basehor police so they could warn businesses along the highway of the situation. With the county fair last week, he also combed the fairgrounds looking for someone who had the distinct three-toned hair.

But Holladay’s search was unsuccessful.

“An individual matching that description shouldn’t be too hard to mistake,” Holladay said.