Would-be robber leaves Prospect Heights bank empty handed

Prospect Heights police are searching for a man who attempted to rob a bank Tuesday but instead walked out empty-handed because the bank manager said he had no cash on hand.

Shortly before 5 p.m., the man deemed to be in his early 20s handed a note to the manager of the Village Bank & Trust at 1845 E. Rand Road notifying him that it was a robbery.

The manager, however, showed the robber an empty register, police Cmdr. Al Steffen said.

"They were in the process of closing out and they had no cash on hand," Steffen said.

The suspect then asked the manager to give him the cash in his wallet, but when the manager said he had none the man just walked out the door, Steffen said.

Only one other employee was in the bank at the time. Neither saw the suspect with a weapon, Steffen said.

Prospect Heights and Arlington Heights police searched the immediate area but the suspect was nowhere to be found. Police have a video image of the suspect from the bank's surveillance camera.

Authorities are asking anyone with any information to contact Prospect Heights police at (847) 398-5511, extension 116.