Franklin police Detective Jeff Stewart said police have located some of the cash believed taken in the robbery, but the gun has not been recovered.
He said anyone who finds a handgun along the riverbank or in the water should call their local police agency.
Credit: WARREN COUNTY JAIL
Credit: WARREN COUNTY JAIL
UPDATE @ 4:30 p.m.:
A nearly 50-year-old man sought in the robbery of the Huntington Bank in Franklin was apprehended from the Great Miami River, where he jumped in in an effort to elude police.
A Franklin Fire & EMS Division boat rescue team and two Franklin police officers picked the suspected bank robbery out of the water just south of a railroad bridge crossing the river, police Lt. Gerry Massey said.
Law enforcement officers and firefighters are searching a large area along the river for the cash taken, the "black pistol" believed used and any other evidence relating to the robbery, Massey said.
"We're totally lucky we had two full squads of people working at the time" of the robbery, the lieutenant said. "It was his bad timing."
Police from Springboro and Carlisle, along with sheriff's deputies from Warren County and state patrol troopers joined Franklin police and fire crews in quickly setting up a perimeter along the river's edge until they could get the man out of the water.
Massey said authorities dispatched for the crime found a bicycle at the river's edge and believe the man jumped in the water about 40 yards south of where the bike was found.
"We don't know if he was attempting to hide" along the river bank, Massey said, noting the man suffered minor injuries when he fell down the hill and into the water.
Massey said the man was very fatigued because of all the time he spent in the water. The lieutenant also noted that police have dealt with the suspect before. He was no more specific than that.
The suspect will be checked out by medics before police take him to jail.
UPDATE @ 3:50 p.m.:
A Franklin bank robbery suspect is now out of the river and in police custody.
Police are searching the river bank for the gun, according to scanner traffic.
UPDATE @ 3:25 p.m.:
Rescue units are now attempting to reach the bank robbery suspect in the Great Miami River, according to scanner traffic.
A rescue boat has been requested to help recover the suspect.
INITIAL REPORT:
Police are on the scene of a bank robbery in Franklin.
The Huntington Bank on Main Street was robbed just minutes ago by man described as a white male, wearing a yellow T-shirt and a skeleton mask, according to scanner traffic.
He had a “black pistol,” according to scanner traffic.
Franklin police and officers from the area, including a police dog, are surrounding the area.
Witnesses said the suspect left on foot toward the river.
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