Fort Oglethorpe police are investigating a botched shoplifting attempt that took place Oct. 8 after two people tried to leave the store with over $600 worth of stolen merchandise.

According to the Fort Oglethorpe Police Department:

Officers were dispatched to the Wal-Mart at 3040 Ga. 2 (Battlefield Parkway) just before 10 a.m. Monday morning, Oct. 8, in reference to a shoplifting in progress.

Store employees stated that about 9:50 a.m., a white male and female were seen in the store selecting large amounts of merchandise, reports show.

"One employee stated that he followed the duo through the store as they selected more items," officer Joel Walker wrote in the report. "He said that the suspects placed the merchandise inside a shopping cart and began bagging the merchandise as they pushed that cart around."

The suspects then pushed the bagged merchandise to the front of the store and attempted to leave as if they had already been through the checkout process, reports show.

The couple was confronted by an employee just outside the front entrance.

"The subjects were approached and they were asked to produce identification," Walker said. "The female then gave the employee the cart, and that's when they both ran and left the scene in a blue Ford Explorer."

Employees were able to see that the 2000 Explorer had a Georgia license plate with tag number BAF 1502.

Store loss prevention informed police that they would pull video surveillance of the incident to help with the investigation.

The case was turned over to detective Tammy Davis.

Anyone with information regarding the case is encouraged to contact the Fort Oglethorpe Police Department at 706-866-2512.