A massive police manhunt is underway after an armed robber held up a bank in a small Central Alberta village on Friday morning.
Three Hills RCMP were called out to the ATB Financial branch in Elnora at about 11:45 a.m. after a bank robber made off with an undisclosed amount of cash, said Const. Robert Harms.
Harms said the robber had a knife when he approached the female teller. Harms said the teller wasn’t hurt and neither were the customers inside. The one suspect fled on foot. Victim services representatives were called in.
Harms said it’s too early to tell whether the suspect climbed into a getaway car.
All the surrounding detachments were called, including Red Deer, Innisfail, Stettler, Drumheller, and as far south as Strathmore, to be on the lookout for the crook. The dog unit from Red Deer RCMP did give some indications as to where the robber went, but they were inconclusive, Harms said.
A Calgary Police Service HAWKS helicopter also searched by air.
Harms said there weren’t many Mounties on scene but more converged on the surrounding area.
“There were roadblocks set up as well as roving patrols,” Harms said.
No suspect description was available. The village is home to about 335 people.
“I think any time a small town experiences something like this, it’s abnormal for sure,” said Harms. “When you look at the big picture, it’s not uncommon for small centres to be subject to periodic criminal activity like that.”