Police try to solve Unity bank robbery

UNITY – Law enforcement officers traded notes Monday on their investigation of last week’s armed robbery of a Bangor Savings Bank branch, but no arrests were made.

Waldo County Chief Deputy Robert Keating said detectives from his department, the state police and the FBI have been assigned to the case.

He declined to discuss details of the investigation, but said it was being worked aggressively.

“We met with all investigators [Monday] morning to share information and compare notes. We are working very hard on this,” Keating said.

The robbery occurred Thursday afternoon at the bank branch in the Clifford Common business complex at the corner of Main and Depot streets.

Investigators say a male entered the office, brandished a weapon and left with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Keating estimated that the robbery took just a few minutes. The robber left in a stolen car, which was found abandoned on a side road a few miles from the bank branch.

Keating would not identify the type of weapon involved.

“It was an armed robbery,” said Keating. “That’s all we’re saying at this point.”

Keating said only employees were in the bank when the 1:30 p.m. robbery occurred. He said a customer entered the bank as the robber was leaving.

“We were fortunate that the bank was not crowded and nobody was injured,” Keating said.

Keating said investigators conducted interviews with bank clerks and officers, witnesses outside the bank and other individuals in surrounding towns.

According to a witness, the robber was wearing a hooded sweat shirt or jacket and a yellow bandanna covering his face.

The stolen car, a 1996 Geo Metro, was located about an hour later on the Crosby Brook Road, about three miles from the bank.

Skid marks in the ice and snow on the side of the road led police to surmise that the robber had a second vehicle waiting and that he left in a hurry.

Keating declined to say whether investigators believe the robber had an accomplice.