By Gabbie Burton
Contributing Writer

A man has yet to be apprehended after he robbed the Presence Bank, located at 24 South Third Street in Oxford on Sept. 11.

At 9:05 a.m. last Thursday, the Oxford Police Department was dispatched to the bank following the activation of the bank’s alarm. Employees told police that the robber walked behind the teller counter and started reaching into the drawer for cash, pulling the teller’s wrist out of his way. The suspect wore a cross-body bag that he protected with one hand, implying the possession of a weapon, according to police, but no weapon was ever displayed. 

Presence Bank declined a request to comment.

Although police arrived on the scene in under three minutes, the man had already stolen a small amount of cash and fled the scene on foot, heading west on Locust Street toward the Oxford Library. The Pennsylvania State Police – Avondale, PA State Police Forensics, the Kennett Township Police Department, and the Southern Chester County Regional Police Department all coordinated in the response, search and evidence collection but the suspect could not be located and remains at large.

As a precaution, the Oxford Area School District put nearby Penns Grove Middle School and the elementary school buildings on restricted movement protocol Thursday after the incident but according to police, at no point were any schools believed to be in direct danger, and the protocol was lifted later that day.

Although the suspect has yet to be found, Sgt. Chris Coverly of the Oxford Police Department shared that forensic evidence was collected at the scene that will be analyzed in hopes of identifying the suspect. Images captured on camera footage from the bank will be used in facial recognition software to possibly identify the suspect as well.

Coverly also encouraged the local community to submit any credible tips they have to law enforcement.

“We’re hoping for the public's help, looking at that picture with the description, and hopefully they can submit a tip, either by calling our dispatcher directly or there's the link that goes right to our Crimewatch, they could submit an anonymous tip even if they wanted to,” Coverly said.

The police department is asking local residents and businesses to review any surveillance footage from the morning of Sept. 11 that may have captured images of the suspect.

The suspect is described as follows: Race/Sex/Age: White male, late 50s to early 60s. Build: Medium, scrawny. Clothing: Gray baseball hat with navy blue brim, black windbreaker-style jacket with red zipper/accents, black pants, black sneakers. Accessories: Glasses, green messenger-style shoulder sling bag. Behavior: Kept one hand in the bag throughout the robbery, implying a weapon. He was last seen on foot, heading west on Locust Street toward the Oxford Library, and a possible vehicle has not yet been identified.

Anyone with a tip can call the Oxford Police Department at 610-268-3171, referencing Incident # OP-25-04847 or submit an anonymous tip via the Crimewatch Portal: https://chester.crimewatchpa.com/oxfordpd/15731/incidents/bank-robbery

To contact Contributing Writer Gabbie Burton, email [email protected].