Man robs Hazel Dell bank, eludes capture

Police unsuccessfully combed the Stockford Village area of Hazel Dell late Thursday morning while searching for a dirty-looking man who robbed an Umpqua Bank branch.

The robbery was reported at about 11:22 a.m.

The suspect was described as a balding white male, perhaps 50 to 55 years old, with curly brown hair on the sides, wearing a brown jacket and blue jeans. He was described as approximately 5 foot 4 inches tall with an average build, according to emergency radio traffic monitored at The Columbian.

The bank is located at 600 N.E. 99th St.

He spoke to a teller and demanded, “Give me the money,” according to a bulletin issued by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. He didn’t display a weapon. After being given the cash and a tracking device, he fled on foot.

The man was seen heading northbound, toward a nearby wedding chapel business.

Deputies later found the tracking device and an apparent mixture of real and fake money abandoned at the Parklane Apartments, about two blocks north of the bank. A deputy corralled the cash into a plastic bag as a slight breeze picked up bills and swirled them around the complex’s parking lot.

A K-9 unit was enlisted in the search. The dog led deputies through the multi-building complex in what amounted to an unsuccessful search.

“Where is 20233?” one deputy, referencing an address, asked to no one in particular, a dog tugging steadily at the leash he was holding. Deputy Rick Osborne threw an arm in the air and shifted directions with his dog, Kane, when another address was dispatched over police radio.

“What’s happening now,” asked an employee at the apartment complex as he pointed toward several police cars huddled near a cluster of units.

Told police were searching for a bank robber, he said, “Again? That’s like the third time since I’ve worked here.”

The man declined to say how long, exactly, that has been.

Bank employees said the man was dirty and missing his front teeth.

The sheriff’s office distributed photos of the man to media outlets Thursday afternoon. Anyone with information is asked to contact Deputy Gadaire at 360-397-6008, ext. 5380.