A couple was getting their early exercise in at West Towne Mall when a young thief stole a cell phone, said Madison police.

The woman said they were walking in the mall around 9:45 a.m. Wednesday when she saw two young men with their hoods up, and one of them was also wearing a face mask.

She said one of them ran up and snatched her cellphone from her hand. Police spokesman Joel DeSpain said her 73-year-old husband grabbed the other teen and said, "Your buddy just stole my wife's phone!"

Her husband said the teen said it wasn’t his friend, freed himself from the man’s grasp, and ran closely behind the thief.

DeSpain said a detective is making progress in the case.