On  March  7,  2015  Ephrata  Police  were  notified  that  two  employees  of  Bright’s Restaurant,  1025  South State Street, Ephrata Borough, recently had cash stolen from their personal belongings.  Restaurant  management  thought that,  given the location of the belongings at the time of the theft, another employee had to be the suspect. Ephrata Police worked with restaurant management to set  up a bait purse  laced with theft detection powder which dyes skin purple.

On  March 10,  2015  at  2016  hours,  restaurant  management  notified  police  that $20 was missing from the bait purse and one of the dish washers had purple dye on his hands. Ephrata Police charged Mickey C. Updike, 21, of Ephrata with 3 counts of theft by unlawful taking.    Updike admitted to the prior thefts. Charges were filed on March 16, 2015.