Search broadens for bank robber

Published 10:22 pm Tuesday, January 31, 2012

COLERAIN – The Bertie County Sheriff’s Office launched a door-to-door canvass here Monday.

Detective Sgt. Ed Pittman and Detectives Dwayne Outlaw and Naomi Wiggins were busy canvassing the downtown area to hopefully retrieve more information about Friday’s bank robbery.

“We have our officers there now going door-to-door and speaking to business owners to see if anyone may have seen anything they didn’t share with us earlier,” Bertie County Sheriff John Holley said. “We are working as hard as we can to move forward in this case.”

Holley said that in addition to the work of his office, the county is partnering with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to find the bank robber, whose photo – an imagine captured by the bank’s security camera – was released late Friday afternoon.

“We’re working together to get this thing solved,” the sheriff insisted.

Friday afternoon one black male entered the RBC branch office in Colerain and produced a small-caliber silver handgun. He demanded money and took more than $6,500 in cash before fleeing on foot.

The Bertie County Sheriff’s Office was on the scene within five minutes of the incident being reported and have been searching for the suspect – described as standing approximately 6’ tall and weighing 200 pounds – since that time.

The sheriff’s office is also seeking a small, white four-door vehicle – possibly a Toyota – which was spotted near the robbery. Holley said the vehicle is missing a hub cap on the driver’s side.

While the car is being sought, Holley cautioned that it may or may not have been involved in the bank robbery.

“We want to speak to those who were in the vehicle,” he said.

The sheriff reminded citizens to call the Bertie County Sheriff’s Office at 794-5330 if they have information. Citizens may also call the sheriff directly at 325-0260.

“We want information, not names,” he said. “If a citizen has information but is concerned about giving their name, they should still feel free to call because the information is what we’re looking for at this time.”