Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Store owner Stacey Price printed out pictures from Facebook.com and turned them over to Radford police.

Facebook.com has long been a tool for college students who want to find out who's living where, who's getting a new job, and who's getting hitched. But Radford business owner Stacey Price found another use for the site: catching thieves.

Price had suspected that someone was shoplifting from her store, Encore Artful Gifts. But she and business partner Amy Harris weren't able to pin down a culprit until a tipster informed them that a Radford University student was shoplifting. Price said she used Facebook to look up the student and saw her pictured in items Price thought had been stolen from the Bella Donna section of the store. Links from the student's Facebook profile led Price to a second suspect.

Price printed out the Facebook photos, along with the purchasing history of both students in her store, and turned them over to the Radford Police Department.

As a result, Alison J. Robertson and Heidi Chantry, both 20 and originally from Hampton, were indicted in March and are both charged with "feloniously" stealing at least $200 in clothing from Price's store.

"The Facebook pictures were invaluable to making the case," Radford Officer Bryon Mayberry wrote in a recent e-mail. Mayberry questioned the young women in their Radford apartment Oct. 24, and they confessed that day, according to court records.

The records also include statements from Robertson and Chantry acknowledging having stolen merchandise. Among the court documents are photos of several young women wearing fashionable clothing in social settings.

"Alison is very remorseful, and once confronted, confessed," said Bev Davis, the Radford attorney representing Robertson.

Robertson and Chantry are scheduled to be in court in June. Davis said his client is only expected to set a court date at that time, which will probably be "mid-to-late summer."

Chantry did not return an e-mail or a call made to the phone number listed for her in court papers. However, a police witness statement in the case court file includes a statement attributed to Chantry acknowledging possession of two BCBG-brand tops.

According to Mayberry, Chantry returned clothing worth more than $200, and Robertson returned clothing worth more than $800. Other merchandise that Price said is missing has not been recovered. She estimates that more than $2000 worth of clothing has been stolen from the store since 2005.

Along with being a merchant, Price is a media studies professor at Radford University and regularly discusses the importance of sites such as Facebook and MySpace in the business world.

She said the incident has given her a new appreciation for the power of social networking sites.

"As a business owner, it's a way for us to have insight into people," Price said, adding that shoplifting is a tough crime to deal with because it's impossible to accuse someone unless they're caught in the act.

Given the challenge posed by shoplifting, social networking sites could be a valuable tool for retailers seeking to gather evidence, Price said.

Members of law enforcement are already using such sites in investigations, Mayberry said.

"Their very nature, as far as I have observed, makes them ideal for usage akin to an online Neighborhood Watch type of function," he wrote in an e-mail.

Last summer, Radford University officials made a point of warning incoming freshmen that any questionable material posted on social networking sites can become public knowledge.