Lake Delton police last week arrested a woman who according to a police report said she has been stealing on and off for 20 or 30 years.

Officers arrested Barbara Anderson, 62, of Oxford, at Tanger Outlet Center around 2:30 p.m. Oct. 17.

She is accused of stealing nearly $1,000 worth of merchandise from seven stores at the mall.

An Easy Spirit employee called police saying she saw Anderson stealing shoes by placing them into her shopping bag and walking out of the store, according to a police report.

The employee said she saw Anderson go out to her vehicle, put the shoes into the SUV and then walk back into the mall, into the Eddie Bauer store.

Officer Michael Horkheimer found Anderson in the store with two large Eddie Bauer bags and a large shopping bag.

He then asked Anderson to step outside the store and asked her if she had anything with her or in her vehicle that she hadn't paid for.

Anderson initially denied stealing anything, but when asked again she confessed to stealing from several mall stores.

According to the report, Anderson said most of the merchandise in her vehicle was stolen and said she paid for some items from the stores and then went back into the stores to steal with the bags she had gotten.

Thefts were not witnessed in the six other mall stores - Eddie Bauer, Harry & David, Naturalizer, Van Heusen, L'eggs Hanes Bali Playtex and Coldwater Creek - but Anderson confessed to stealing from the stores, according to the report.

Anderson was taken to the Sauk County Jail and charged with seven counts of shoplifting.

She told police she was caught stealing about 10 years ago. Online records do not show any charges against her in Wisconsin.

The report said Anderson told police she could have paid for the items she had stolen and said she steals on and off when she is under stress.