PRINCETON — If you can’t rob the bank, you take the bank with you. That works until the deputies show up. Franklin County Sheriff Jeff Curry said when deputies raced to a bank alarm at the Patriots Bank in Princeton early Sunday morning, they found the outside ATM had been removed. The would-be thief had wrapped a chain around the ATM and used the truck to yank it off its foundation, he said. The thief tried to pull the ATM on the chain but that didn’t work and decided to use the truck to push the ATM west on John Brown Road, leaving marks on the road. Deputies saw the truck at the intersection of John Brown Road and U.S. 59, When deputies pursued, the truck took off, leaving the ATM and the money behind, Curry said. That set off a chase along John Brown Road and into the city of Williamsburg where the truck crashed. The driver fled on foot, running through neighborhoods in the dark, he said. Deputies searched the area, but weren’t able to catch the suspect. The Anderson County Sheriff’s office, the Ottawa Police Department, an Osage County Sheriff’s K-9 unit, and the Kansas Highway Patrol joined the search and a perimeter was established, but the suspect eluded the dragnet. However, Curry said a person of interest has been identified and he expects an arrest to occur soon.
Wednesday, May 23, 5:30 a.m.; updated, 2 p.m.
