Police looking for clues in Monday morning bank robbery

Cape Girardeau police late Monday were searching for a suspect in a midmorning bank robbery after reviewing surveillance footage and scouring the scene for clues.

Police dogs were used in addition to manpower to look for anything left behind after a robbery at The Bank of Missouri, 1622 N. Kingshighway.

Bank employees reported a man wearing a baseball cap, jacket with a hood and several layers of clothing entered the bank with a written note that demanded money and handed it to the clerk. The call to police was made at about 10 a.m.

Police tape surrounds The Bank of Missouri, 1622 N. Kingshighway, after the bank was robbed Monday morning, March 25, 2013 in Cape Girardeau. (Fred Lynch)

The suspect did not display a weapon and no one was injured, according to police spokesman Darin Hickey. The man made off with an undisclosed amount of cash. No one was in custody as of late Monday afternoon.

Hickey said the suspect entered and left the bank through the front entrance, and headed around the back of the building and north toward Kingsway Drive on foot.

Anyone who was in the area at the time of the robbery is asked to call police at 335-6621. Police were not able to gather a description of a vehicle that could have been used by the suspect.

This surveillance image shows a suspect in the Monday robbery of The Bank of Missouri on North Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau. Provided by Cape Girardeau Police Department.

Crime scene tape had been removed from the bank's parking lot by the afternoon, and the bank remained closed after the robbery.

The robbery is the second to occur at the location this year. On Jan. 10, a man robbed the same bank without a weapon.

No arrests have been made in that incident, according to Hickey, and at this time police do not know if the two incidents are related.

This surveillance image shows a suspect in the Monday robbery of The Bank of Missouri on North Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau. Provided by Cape Girardeau Police Department.

"It would be nice if we could say that, but there's no way to know at this point," Hickey said.

Police will investigate Monday's incident from that angle, he said.

In 2005, a suspect who robbed the same bank was caught after about 20 minutes.

Police on Monday released surveillance photos a few hours after the robbery. One of the photos shows part of the man's face in profile, but the close-up crop is pixilated and the man was wearing sunglasses and a hat.

The Bank of Missouri president John Thompson said no customers were inside at the time of the robbery, and he felt the bank staff responded appropriately to the incident.

"The good news is that everybody at our location is trained on these kinds of events, so I think our team knows to go about a professional protocol when these things happen," he said. "They know the sooner we can exit the criminal, the better. Unfortunately, it still happened, and it makes you very concerned about how and why something like this happens."

Thompson said employees were sent home and the bank would reopen today. Customers were asked in the meantime to use one of three other locations in Cape Girardeau. Branches are at 3427 William St., 372 S. Kingshighway and 440 Broadway.

The robbery is the third of a bank or credit union this year; Cape Girardeau Regional Credit Union was robbed Feb. 6. Hickey said no arrests have been made in connection to that robbery.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

1622 N. Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, Mo.