Man tries to rob Yarmouth bank

YARMOUTH – Police are investigating an attempted robbery that occurred Tuesday afternoon at the Norway Savings Bank on Route 1.

Police Chief Michael Morrill said a man handed a teller a note demanding money around 2:25 p.m. But the bank manager refused, and after a brief exchange the man ran off.

Additional Photos

Yarmouth police collect evidence and interview bank employees after an attempted robbery Tuesday afternoon at Norway Savings Bank on Route 1 in Yarmouth. Gordon Chibroski/Staff Photographer

A security camera shows the suspect in an attempted robbery at a Norway Savings Bank on Route 1. Courtesy Yarmouth Police Department

Nobody was hurt. The man mentioned a gun but did not show one.

”He ran directly across into Royal River Park,” Morrill said. The town’s police dog was brought in but its effort to track the man didn’t yield anything definitive.

Chop Hardenbergh was walking from his office on Main Street to do business at the bank when he encountered three armed police officers in Royal River Park. They asked him to leave the area.

”It really scared me to see these officers carrying weapons,” Hardenbergh said.

The nearby Rowe Elementary School, which serves 180 kindergarten and first-grade students, was locked down as a precaution from 2:30 to 3:10 p.m.

There was no indication that the would-be robber had fled in that direction, said Superintendent Judy Paolucci.

Officers canvassed the surrounding neighborhood late Tuesday.

”We just ask people, if they have any information or saw something that might be suspicious during that time — a person or a car leaving one of the many park entrances — to call 846-3333,” Morrill said.

Related Stories