SAN JOSE (AP) — Police say a quick-thinking Girl Scout wearing her badge for cleverness recorded the license plate number of a man who swiped her money box from outside a San Francisco Bay Area supermarket.

The Mercury News reports the robbery happened Sunday in San Jose, where members of a local troop were selling cookies and raising money for a water conservation project.

After the suspect snatched the box containing about $600, one of the scouts managed to spy his plate number. Officers tracked the vehicle down and arrested 23-year-old Cody Gintz on suspicion of robbery. He remained in custody Sunday night.

KNTV reports police returned the stolen cash to the girls — and bought 48 boxes of cookies.