Police still looking for woman who robbed Conway bank

Published Date Written by Erik Eisele

CONWAY — Authorities are still looking for the woman who robbed a bank in Conway Village on Friday afternoon.
"Somebody knows her," said Conway Police spokesman Lt. Chris Perley.

The woman used a written note to rob the Bank of New Hampshire branch near the intersection of Route 16, Pleasant Street and Washington Street. The signs showing the company's former name, Laconia Savings Bank, are still on the building because the name change had just occurred.

She put the money in her purse, according to police dispatch logs. She escaped in a sport utility vehicle. No one was injured in the robbery.

The department has received a number of tips in the case, Lt. Perley said, but when asked if there had been any developments he responded, "Nothing significant."

But the clear photo of the woman taken by a bank security camera has given officials confidence they will find the woman.

"It was a great use of technology," Lt. Perley said.

The photo shows the woman near the entrance of the bank wearing dark pants, a light jacket and a baseball cap.
Police have described the woman as 5 foot 7 inches tall, 200 pounds, with long dark hair.

The woman got away in her two tone SUV, which police said had a dark top section and a light-colored lower section.
Lt. Perley would not comment on the amount taken, but he called such robberies "high risk, low yield." Most money these days is moved around electronically, he said, and so often there isn't a lot of cash on hand. "The yield is usually not that great."

Still, he said, such incidents can be very dangerous.

"Robbery is the last vestige of a scoundrel," he said. "People who are doing it are at wits end."

People who resort to robbery often are doing it to feed other addictions, Lt. Perley said.

"Traditionally robbery is a prelude to homicide," he said. "Their plan is if I stick a gun in your face you'll comply," but it doesn't always work out that way. A police officer may interrupt, or a bystander may try to intervene.

"Bad things can happen," he said.

Robbery is a class B felony, punishable by up to seven years in prison, except in cases involving a deadly weapon or appearing to involve a deadly weapon. In those cases it is a class A felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

In cases involving a threatening note, Lt. Perley said, it is still possible to charge a person with a class A felony because even when there is no weapon it appears to the victim there was one. The same logic applies to someone who uses their fingers in the pocket of their jacket to fake having a gun, he said.