Capaha Bank in Cape Girardeau robbed, police seek suspect

Surveillance video showing the robbery suspect

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A man wearing a hooded sweat shirt and a bandanna masking his face robbed a Cape Girardeau bank Thursday morning.

The man, described as in his mid-20s in age, handed a note to a teller at the Capaha Bank branch at Broadway and Kingshighway demanding money but did not threaten violence or display a weapon, Cape Girardeau Police Department spokesman Sgt. Jason Selzer said.

Surveillance video showed the man headed east on foot as he left the bank, Selzer said. Cameras lost sight of the man as he exited the bank, so little was known about where he went or whether any accomplices were waiting for him outside, Selzer said.

The video also shows the apparently relaxed subject walking casually into the bank, even waving at someone inside, before heading to the counter.

The suspect was wearing a blue and white scarf over the bottom half of his face and a gray hooded sweat shirt with the hood over his head at the time of the robbery. He remained at large early Thursday evening.

The bank branch was closed while officers from the police department and agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation reviewed the video evidence and spoke with bank employees. At one point, officers used police dog Tobin in an attempt to locate the robber's getaway trail.

The robbery was reported at 11:24 a.m., Cpl. Adam Glueck of the Cape Girardeau Police Department said at the scene.

The robbery was the first bank robbery in Cape Girardeau since Oct. 30, 2008, when the Bank of Missouri branch at 372 N. Kingshighway was robbed. The same day, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin appeared at a major campaign rally in Cape Girardeau.

In April, George R. Chesnut of Alton, Ill., was charged with committing that robbery by federal authorities. He was also accused of a robbery at the same bank branch Oct. 3, 2008.

Police are asking that anyone with information regarding Thursday's robbery call the department's confidential tips line at 339-6312. Anonymity is guaranteed. The regular police line is 335-6621.

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

This still photo from a Capaha Bank surveillance camera shows the man believed to have robbed the bank Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009. Photo provided by the Cape Girardeau Police Department.

380 N. Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, MO