No one was injured during an armed robbery at the Toledo Timberland Bank on Friday.
The male suspect reportedly brandished a black handgun twice during his interaction with bank tellers around 6 p.m. on Oct. 18 and made off with $1,020, according to Toledo Police Chief Sam Patrick.
“I credit the tellers at the bank for staying as calm as they did under a stressful situation because it prevented our robber from doing anything to harm anyone,” Patrick said.
The suspect reportedly ran around the south side of the bank and was not at the scene when personnel from the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, the Winlock Police Department and the Chehalis Police Department responded.
Law enforcement officers locked down the scene for a Chehalis Police Department K9 to begin a track, at which time a citizen who had noticed “suspicious activity” reported it to law enforcement, according to Patrick.
With the citizen’s information, they were able to locate the vehicle reportedly used in the robbery and identify a suspect Friday evening, but as of Monday morning, law enforcement had yet to locate and arrest the suspect.
The vehicle has been secured as evidence.
Patrick called the citizen’s involvement “crucial” in the investigation, but said he wanted citizens to know that their first priority should always be their own safety if they get involved in incidents like this.
