SPRINGFIELD TWP, Mercer County — A Canadian woman’s money went down the drain, literally, in an inside weekend caper at a hotel near Grove City, authorities said.

The victim, Penny L. Egget of Ontario, back from a shopping trip, was returning to her room at the Super 8 on Leesburg Grove City Road about 3:30 p.m. Saturday when she spotted a man leaving the room, state police said.

Egget immediately inspected her room and found $110 missing from one of her bags. She ran to the front desk and confronted the man seen leaving the room moments earlier.

The suspect, 25-year-old Jacob R. Auerbach of Sandy Lake, turned out to be an employee of the hotel, police said.

Egget asked for her money back. Auerbach, however, denied taking it. She notified authorities.

Troopers went to the hotel and spoke to the suspect.

“(Auerbach) confessed to taking the money,” according to a police report, “and flushing it down a toilet when he was confronted by the victim.”

Police said they arrested the defendant, who faces several charges including burglary and theft.

A telephone call to the hotel was not immediately returned Tuesday.