Police seek suspect in Ames bank
January 9, 2001
The Ames Police Department responded to a report of a robbery at an Ames bank Monday and are in the initial stages of an investigation to identify the suspect.Police received the call at 11:29 a.m. from First National Bank, 2406 Grand Ave., said Sergeant Mike Johns of the Ames Police Detective Division.”What we’re doing is we’ve interviewed the witnesses,” Johns said. “The videotape from the bank is being processed by the FBI right now. They will provide us with any types of photographs or images they can.”The suspect slipped a note to a teller, and an alarm was activated that alerted the police department, said Terry Wycoff, executive vice president of First National Bank.”Shortly after the occurrence, the bank was closed while the police department did their work,” he said. “It was reopened at about 12:30 [p.m.]”Johns said the suspect left the bank on foot before the police arrived at the bank, and it is undetermined whether the suspect took money.There were several bank employees and customers at the location at the time, but Wycoff said the suspect did not display a weapon, and no injuries were reported.Johns said eyewitnesses described the suspect as a white male, about 5-feet-6-inches to 5-feet-9-inches tall and between 130 and 160 pounds. The suspect was described as wearing a red stocking cap and red jacket and traveling on foot, he said.”We don’t have anything concrete right now,” Johns said. “We’re in the preliminary stages of the investigation.”The Ames Police Department is working to develop a composite picture of the suspect, Johns said.Anyone with information may contact the Ames Police at 239-5133.