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Robber Flees Wash. Cops on Inner Tube

Craigslist may have been used to solicit decoys

By Ambreen Ali,  Newser User

Posted Oct 1, 2008 6:49 PM CDT
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(Newser) – A crafty robber escaped on an inner-tube this morning after pepper-spraying an armored-car guard outside a bank in Monroe, Wash., the Seattle Times reports. The thief may also have used Craigslist to solicit unwitting decoys, asking them to show up near the scene in attire like his. It was a “fairly well-planned” robbery, police say.

Road-maintenance workers who answered the request waited near the bank this morning in a "yellow vest, safety goggles, a respirator mask, and, if possible, a blue shirt," said one of the dozen duped men. Meanwhile the robber sprinted about 100 yards and fled down a creek on an inner tube. Police recalled one other local thief who fled by water. It was “the most bizarre thing,” an officer says, “until today.”

A robber escaped down a river on an inner-tube today, Washington state police say. In an unrelated photo, a man holds a gun on a woman during a robbery.
A robber escaped down a river on an inner-tube today, Washington state police say. In an unrelated photo, a man holds a gun on a woman during a robbery.   (AP Photo/via FBI)
A bank robber in Washington state fled by inner tube today.
A bank robber in Washington state fled by inner tube today.   (Shutterstock)
The inner-tube getaway worked: Police are still looking for the suspect, but his transport was found on the bank of the river.
The inner-tube getaway worked: Police are still looking for the suspect, but his transport was found on the bank of the river.   (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
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Monroe robbery was 'best ever'
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Bank of America • bank robbery • Craigslist • Washington state • river • inner-tube

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