Sanford Kidnapping, Bank Robbery Attempt: WRAL
Sanford Kidnapping, Bank Robbery Attempt: WRAL
Sanford, NC-- Deputies in Sanford are investigating a kidnapping and an attempted bank robbery they say is connected to one of the kidnapping victims.
According to WRAL, a bank employee and her daughter were kidnapped from their Harnett County home Thursday morning. The men allegedly took them to the bank where she worked and forced the woman to try to rob it, authorities told the station.
A spokesman for the Harnett County Sheriff's Office said the men went into the home around 7am when the daughter came back from letting out the family dog. Investigators said the men told the woman they knew she worked at Crescent State Bank in Sanford.
The victim said two men forced her and her daughter into the woman's car and drove to the bank. When they arrived, one of the men instructed the woman to go inside and retrieve an undisclosed amount of money. Investigators said the daughter remained in the car with the men while the woman went inside.
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After a short time, detectives said the men apparently became impatient and the drove off with the girl without getting any money. The girl's mother was still inside the bank.
Sanford police received the first emergency call at 8:21 a.m., and the Harnett County Sheriff's Office was notified of the abduction about 20 minutes later. A description of the vehicle was broadcast, and a manhunt began.
Sanford police officers found the girl in the back seat of the car, which was abandoned off U.S. Highway 15/501 at the entrance to Steel and Pipe Corp. in Sanford.
The girl was not injured, authorities said.
Kieran Shanahan, a Raleigh lawyer who represents the bank, said the mother and daughter were reunited and were holding up "pretty well." He said the bank is cooperating with the investigation, and the employees are focused on well-being of their co-worker and her daughter.
The bank is rescheduled to reopen Friday.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Harnett County Sheriff's Office at 910-893-9111.
The North Carolina Bankers Association is offering a reward for information leading to an arrest in the case.