FRACKVILLE - State police at Frackville released a security camera image of a man wanted for robbing a bank Thursday in New Castle Township.
Trooper Melissa Kyper said the man is white, believed to be in his 20s or 30s and is about 6 feet tall with a medium build.
He was last seen wearing a bandana and a hood to conceal his identity, she said.
Kyper said the man stole a vehicle from the parking lot of Turkey Hill in Frackville and went to National Penn Bank at the Schuylkill Mall, where he announced the robbery and gestured as if he had a concealed firearm.
The man then made off with an undisclosed amount of cash and fled the bank on foot and the mall parking lot in the stolen vehicle.
After leaving the bank, Kyper said the man apparently made a second attempt at a robbery at the Wells Fargo Bank branch on Altamont Boulevard in West Mahanoy Township but was unsuccessful at entering the building.
He then drove to Frackville where the vehicle was found abandoned on Frack Street.
Kyper said the investigation is continuing and that numerous municipal police agencies, Schuylkill County detectives and county sheriff's deputies assisted. The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Allentown was also consulted.
A tracking dog furnished by Special Unit 66 in Lebanon County was used in Frackville in the area where the vehicle was found abandoned.
Kyper said the stolen vehicle was taken into custody for forensic testing by the state police Forensic Services Unit, Reading.
Anyone with information on the stolen car, robbery or identity of the robber is asked to call police at 570-874-5300. All information will remain confidential.