BANK VAULT PRISON

Hawera Star, Volume L, 22 May 1930, Page 7

BANK VAULT PRISON

BANDIT TERRORISES STAFF HAUL OF £SOO.

A lone bandit, after shepherd in 2: the manager and staff of a branch of the Canadian Bank of Commerce in Winnipeg into the' vault- and docking them in, collected some £SOO in currency and i vanished. Shortly after 1 the branch opened for business the manager, Mr. R. Hayward, looked up from his desk to notice a man standing over him. The manager read l a note which his visitor handed to Mm. and which made quite clear the reason of his visit-. Scribbled, in pencil were words to the effect —“Be careful. Do as you are told. It- may cost- the life- of yourself and others.” Mr. Hayward, noticing a significant movement in the pocket of the bandit s coat, in which he had! kept one hand, obevcd the command, “Get into the vaiflt.” The other three members of the staff followed. The bandit slammed the door of t-lio vault, scooped up the cash: in the tellers’ cages, and walked quietly from the building. The imprisoned men had a difficult task in escaping from the vault, and valuable time was lost before t-hfiv emerged and gave the alarm. A few moments later the police arrived, and an intensive hunt was commenced.Although the bandit- led the bank officials to believe that he was armed, and that the weapon he carried', was held in his right hand and pointed from the side pocket of his overcoat, ail offensive weapon waisi never actually seen. The robberv was all the work of a minute, handled bv a hustling marauder. who rushed things a.t breakneck speed . ~ , T Unsuspecting, the teller and ledgerkeepers saw the young man enter the front door of the office'. In the lobby he smart-lv turned to hi® left and walked into the manager’s office. Imprisonment in the vault was the next s+ep. Inside the vault the manager groped in the darkness for the candle and 1 screwdriver kept there for emergency purposes. The candle lighted, Mr. Hayward got to work with the screwdriver and loosened the combination. The door opened, and the alarm was given.

There is a standing reward of £IOOO offered bv the Canadian Bankers’ Association for information that will lead to the arrest of any man who attempts t 0 hold up any hank messenger or any Canadian bank. Several rewards of this nature have already been paid l .