By Michael Fleeman

(Reuters) - A thief briefly struggled with a 10-year-old Girl Scout outside a California supermarket and snatched her troop's cookie sale cash box, but officers tracked down the suspect and then bought up the rest of the cookies, authorities said on Monday.

Cody Gintz, 23 of San Jose, was arrested for investigation of robbery and held on $50,000 bail at Santa Clara County Jail, according to San Jose Police spokesman Officer Albert Morales.

He said the Girl Scouts had been selling cookies at a table outside a San Jose supermarket on Sunday afternoon when Gintz grabbed the cash box away from the girl, who initially didn’t let go.

"There was a brief struggle over the box," Morales said. "The 10-year-old girl finally realized he would overpower her and let go. He took the money."

The girl, Sophia Contos, told Bay Area television station KNTV that the box contained about $600 the troop was planning to use on a water conservation project.

"He's looking around, looking at the cookies, and I keep my hands on the box," she told the station. "And (he starts) to pull away and all of a sudden he goes for it. I jerk it away, but then he's like too strong, so he gets it."

The thief drove off, but witnesses provided his description and license plate number to police, who found him about a mile a way. Morales said police found the money in the vehicle and the cash box in a nearby creek.

The money was returned to the troop, who got a bonus from the hungry officers.

“Our officers, along with our dispatchers, purchased the remaining cookies, $240 worth, and donated $60 to the troop,” Morales said. “The officers just realized this was probably a pretty traumatic experience for the girls.”

Gintz remained jailed on the bail. It wasn't immediately known whether he had a lawyer.

(Reporting by Michael Fleeman in Los Angeles; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)