ROBBER GETS LEG UP ON BANK; NO WEAPON USED IN MORNING BANK ROBBERY

A thin, young man leaped over the counter at a Bank of America branch in Cape Girardeau Saturday morning, grabbed money from a teller's drawer, leaped back and ran out a rear door with a handful of cash, witnesses said.

"He must have been some sort of athlete," said Earl Holmes of Sikeston, who was cashing a check when the robbery occurred. "He leaped like a squirrel."

The robbery occurred at 9:27 a.m. in the bank at 800 N. Kingshighway, a press release from the Federal Bureau of Investigations said.

The FBI said the robber's face was covered, and he did not threaten anyone with a weapon.

Witnesses estimated the man to be in his late teens or early 20s.

Holmes said the robber came and left so quickly, no one had time to be scared.

"We thought it was a joke," he said. "If I had known what the guy was doing I could have tackled him."

About five people were inside the bank at the time of the robbery, police Cpl. Barry Hovis said.

The robber entered through the doorway facing the rear parking lot and, using his hand for leverage, jumped over the counter separating tellers from customers, Holmes said.

When the robber landed, he bumped into a teller, and apologized, Holmes said.

After grabbing a handful of bills, the man jumped back over the counter and ran out the same doorway. Witnesses said he ran through the backyards of homes along the west side of Cape Rock Road.

Ruth Burchyett of Cape Girardeau didn't know a bank robbery was taking place until she heard the sound of the man landing next to a teller.

"I heard the noise and then saw the bandana around his face and I knew what was going on," Burchyett said.

A bank employee told the customers to keep still, she said, but the robber didn't speak a word.

"I knew to be calm," Burchyett said.

Police brought in a K-9 to see if the man's scent could be tracked along the his escape route. After picking up a scent at the edge of the parking lot, the dog was able to follow the man's path until he reached a point close to Cape Rock Road.

Police said it is possible that the robber had a car parked along the road.

Anyone with information about the robbery may contact the police at 335-6621 or the FBI at 335-2511.

The robbery is the fourth in Cape Girardeau since 1996. Prior to Saturday, the last robbery occurred at the same bank in July 1998.

Steve Taylor, president of Bank of America of Cape Girardeau, declined to comment Saturday about the robbery.