Ski-masked gunman holds up NE Bend bank, gets away

A gunman wearing a ski mask robbed the Columbia Bank on Northeast Third Street in Bend Monday morning and fled, prompting a major manhunt in the area that failed to find the robber, police said. A Crime Stoppers reward was offered for tips or information in the case.

The report came in at 9:38 a.m. that a man had threatened bank employees with a handgun and demanded money, then left after receiving an undisclosed sum, said Bend police Lt. Clint Burleigh.

Lt. Brian Kindel termed it a “traumatic robbery” for those on the scene, since the gunman exposed his firearm.

The suspect was last seen walking west from the bank, located at 1701 Northeast Third Street, Burleigh said.

Officers and detectives from several agencies rushed to the scene and began to search, including Bend police and a K-9 team, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies and detectives, Oregon State Police troopers, Central Oregon Drug Enforcement Team detectives and FBI agents responded to help identify and search for a suspect, to no avail, Burleigh said.

Nearby Marshall High School was put in precautionary lockdown, which was lifted about 90 minutes later.

The robber initially was described as a white man 50 to 60 years old. Burleigh said he wore a black ski mask, a gray hoodie sweatshirt and dark pants.

He may have been carrying a white duffel bag, initial unconfirmed police scanner reports indicated. He also was said to have used a black, smaller handgun, possibly semi-automatic, dispatchers said.

The robbery occurred near the busy corner of Third Street and Revere Avenue. Deschutes County 911 dispatchers urged drivers to avoid the area if possible, as traffic could be delayed or diverted nearby.

The scene was made even busier for a time by a small kitchen fire that broke out minutes later at the nearby Carl’s Jr. restaurant. First-arriving crews reported the active fire was out and only smoke remained. Investigators later said it was a failed French fries fryer that allowed oil to reach the flame below; losses were estimated at $5,000.

Less than a hundred feet away, Chevron Manager Jerami Soto said he’s more concerned this gunman is still on the run.

Nearly next door to the bank is Images Salon. Nail technician Kristy Sutterfield said this is the second robbery of that bank she’s seen there.

In June of 2014, Gary Kent Peterson held up the same bank. He was arrested seven hours later in the Marion County town of Stayton.

Sutterfield said she and her coworkers already know the drill.

“We kind of know what to do,” she said. “We just lock the door and just wait. We’re kind of concerned, you know- we don’t want anything to happen to us.”

Police later Monday released three video surveillance images of the suspect as they sought Crime Stoppers tips about what took place around the bank before, during or after the holdup. You can contact 1-877-876-TIPS or visit our Crime Stoppers page. You can remain anonymous and could be eligible for a cash reward.

It was the first Bend bank robbery since mid-December, when a La Pine man entered the Wells Fargo Bank, also on NE Third Street, demanded a large sum of money and displayed “explosives” later found to be hoax devices. Thomas Henderson, 72, came out and surrendered 40 minutes later, police said, but it took hours for an OSP bomb squad to arrive from Salem use its robot to examine and render the item harmless and reopen the street.

Two days earlier, police responded to the Selco Community Credit Union on NE Bellevue Drive after Brett Comstock, 28, allegedly used a note to rob the bank. He was caught less than 40 minutes later, after a few shopping stops, in front of a nearby bookstore, trying to use a newly bought Christmas tree to hide his face, police said.

If you have any information, contact the Crime-Stoppers tip line at 1-877-876-TIPS. You can remain anonymous and you could be eligible for a cash reward.

Lt. Kindel said they need anyone who may have been driving near the bank Monday morning, who saw anything or any vehicle, to come forward.

For now, Kindel said they are still processing DNA evidence, which could take awhile but hopefully will provide some leads.