Traffic stop leads to arrest of woman on charge of possessing stolen property

A routine traffic stop by Henderson police resulted in the arrest of a woman who police believe used her job to gain access to hospital patients' belongings and credit cards.

Police arrested Patricia Kellner, 39, early Monday morning and charged her with possession of stolen property.

The stolen items were traced to a 70-year-old Boulder City woman who had reported her belongings missing after being admitted to St. Rose Dominican Hospital, police said.

Further investigation revealed that Kellner had been a temporary nurse in Las Vegas for the past several months at several hospitals.

"Apparently some time during the victim's stay at the hospital the credit cards were taken from her room," Detective Rob Hart said. "We don't know if Kellner was in charge of the patient's care, but we do know that she was a nurse at the hospital at the time."

A St. Rose spokeswoman said that she could find no record of anyone under the name Patricia Kellner who ever worked at the hospital.

Hart says she was working as a temporary nurse and may not have been in the hospital's system.

After Kellner's arrest, police issued a search warrant and found more stolen property and substantial evidence that there may be other victims. There is not a complete list of what hospitals Kellner worked at, but the victims are likely elderly and may have been admitted to a hospital or medical facility when they experienced the thefts, Hart said.

Hospitals generally tell patients to leave valuables at home when they are admitted, a St. Rose spokeswoman said.

Police are trying to locate further potential theft victims.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Henderson Police Department at 565-2009 or Secret Witness at 385-5555.

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