Vancouver bank robber strikes twice in 20 minutes

A robber who walked away empty-handed from a Vancouver bank Tuesday afternoon robbed a credit union in a different part of town about 20 minutes later, according to the Vancouver Police Department.

The attempted robbery was reported at 4:38 p.m. at the US Bank branch at 16415 S.E. McGillivray Blvd., according to dispatch records. The robber made his attempt via the bank’s drive-thru window, but he did not get any money, police Sgt. Mike Davis said.

The robber was described as a white man, 6 feet tall, wearing a black jacket and a black baseball cap.

At 4:55 p.m., as officers were investigating the attempted robbery, an alarm came in for a robbery at the Columbia Credit Union branch at 108 Grand Blvd., about 8.5 miles away.

The robber in that case passed a note demanding money and fled with an undetermined amount of money, according to police. The robber matched the description of the suspect in the earlier attempted robbery and is believed to be the same person, Davis said.

No arrests were made, and the cases remain under investigation.