Crime & Safety

Sheriff: Bank Robber Orders Tellers to Lie Down, Grabs Cash, Flees on Foot

The robber did not display a weapon nor did he threaten the use of one during the crime, officials said.

Authorities are looking for the man who robbed a bank in Putnam Lake Friday morning.

The crime occurred at about 11 a.m. at the Putnam County National Bank on Haviland Drive. The man walked into the bank and announced the holdup, according to officials at the Putnam County Sheriff's Office. No one was hurt during the incident.

"He ordered the two tellers inside to lie down on the floor, and they complied," authorities said. "The man then walked around the tellers’ counter and took an undisclosed amount of currency from the tellers’ cash drawers. The suspect then fled the bank on foot before a bank employee was able to trip an alarm and call police. The robber did not display a weapon nor did he threaten the use of one during the crime."

The man police are looking for is white and in his 40s. He has a medium build, he's about 5'11" and he weighs approximately 180 pounds. He was last seen wearing a gray army-style jacket over a gray hoodie-type sweatshirt, a brownish colored woolen watch cap, and sunglasses with silver rims, according to the Sheriff's Office.

"Sheriff’s deputies and investigators were joined in a search for the suspect by state troopers and a state police helicopter," authorities said. "Canine units from the Sheriff’s Office and the MTA Police scoured the vicinity of the bank in an effort to track the suspect. The FBI was notified and is assisting the Sheriff’s Office in the investigation."

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Officials ask anyone with information about the case to call the Sheriff's Office at 845-225-4300. All calls will be kept confidential.


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