Published: July 02, 2008 12:25 pm      

Galveston bank robber flees on foot

GALVESTON — Police responded Monday to the report of a bank robbery at Salin Bank and Trust off U.S. 35 in Galveston.

According to Detective Sgt. Tom Wallace of the Cass County Sheriff’s Department, a white male entered the bank about 9:45 a.m. Monday. He was wearing a cloth mask, and he approached a teller with a concealed weapon and demanded money.

The teller obeyed and the man fled on foot heading north. None of the five employees who were working at the time were injured, Wallace said.

The male is described as 5-foot-11 and in his early 20s with a thin build and dirty blond hair. Wallace said he was wearing a dark blue sleeveless shirt over a light gray or white long-sleeve shirt and blue jeans, a white baseball cap with blue or black emblem on the front and white tennis shoes.

Wallace said the officers had several names of interest and hope to narrow the list to one.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Department K-9 unit spent all day searching the area while the bank was under lockdown. Wallace said officers and detectives performed “knocks and talks” at homes and businesses near the bank, interviewing individuals in Galveston and Kokomo.

Wallace said the Galveston Police Department and Cass County Sheriff’s Department would continue the search today.

Officers interviewed employees at the bank and looked at surveillance tapes Monday. Wallace had no comment whether the robber had been caught on tape.

Eunice Rush was on her horse depositing money at the drive-up window when the robbery occurred.

“They took my stuff and kind of disappeared for a long time,” she said. “I was literally handing my money over to one window while he was taking it in the other.”

She said she saw an employee running from one area of the building to another.

Rush said she did not see the robber leave the building. She said she thought employees had done a good job, though.

“I was impressed with how they handled it,” she said. “I think they did a remarkable job of keeping things together. They were just so calm and so apologetic. They called me later to let me know my deposits went through.”

Rush said she wasn’t afraid at the time, but after thinking about the situation, she agreed that things could have gone awry.

“I was thinking, ‘I’m on my horse, how fast could I have gotten away?’” she said.

Mable Huskins, whose daughter owns Rhonda’s Beach House Tanning next door to Salin, said she had seen nothing unusual Monday morning.

“There was a big semi in the lot and a car that was blocking my view,” she said.

Her business is nearest the bank, with windows facing the back of the bank. She said she started work a little after 8 a.m.

Next door to the tanning salon at Galveston Auto and Tire, employee James Beaver also said he had seen nothing unusual.

“We didn’t even know anything had happened,” he said.

For Beaver, the robbery was an out-of-the-ordinary incident for the town of Galveston.

“We don’t get much excitement around here,” he said.

Rush agreed.

“I felt like I was in the Old West on my horse while the bank was being robbed,” she said.

Indiana State Police, Cass County Sheriff’s Department and Galveston Police Department were on the scene, along with Indiana State Police crime scene technicians from posts in Lafayette and Lowell.

Wallace said Mike Clark, deputy marshall at Galveston Police Department, was the first to arrive.

The bank was scheduled to reopen today.

Melissa Soria may be reached at (574) 732-5143 or via e-mail at melissa.soria@pharostribune.com



Have a tip?

If you have any information of suspicious activity or may have seen the described male between 9 and 10 a.m. Monday, call the Cass County Sheriff’s Department at (574) 722-6060; Detective Tom Wallace at (574) 753-2189 or Brad Sommers at (574) 753-7808; the Galveston Police Department at (574) 699-7453; or Cass County Crime Stoppers at (574) 722-STOP.