ATLANTA — Atlanta police are investigating after multiple stolen purses were found discarded in the woods.

A woman told Channel 2′s Elizabeth Rawlins that her purse was taken out of her car at Chastain Park on Thursday, but she was able to trace it with a tracking device she had inside.

The woman said once she found her purse, and more tossed out in the woods with it, she not only called the Atlanta Police Department about what she found, she even waited for them to arrive.

She said what had started out as a fun afternoon with her children at the park turned into a nightmare.

“When I got back in my car, I realized my purse was not there,” the woman said.

She didn’t want to show her face on camera because she says her entire life was inside her purse, from her laptop to her credit cards, social security numbers. Some of that information still hasn’t been accounted for.

“Between last night and this morning, I was able to track locations,” she explained.

The woman said she was able to track her purse through her laptop and earbuds to a wooded location, nearly 10 miles away in northwest Atlanta.

“He goes there, he finds my purse, not only my purse but several others with their private and personal belongings,” the woman said.

At the location, the woman found purses, bags and bookbags, all of which appeared to have been stolen and discarded in the same place.

After calling APD multiple times but not getting any officers to come out to the woods, she called Channel 2 Action News.

“When they got the contact from you guys, the officer who showed up was very on top of it and she seems like she will be doing something,” the woman said.

Finally, the woman was able to turn over the stolen purses to police and she hopes it will not only lead to closure for her case, but the others as well.

“You wake up every day, you go to work, for what? For people to come and take all of that from you?” she said.

Police don’t recommend playing detective like this woman and mother did, but having tracking devices can certainly be helpful for investigators.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call APD.