Edgar County authorities believe that a recent bank robbery in one of its small communities may be committed by the same man who robbed the Herrick bank in March.

In a one year period, banks in Flat Rock in Crawford County (Aug. 15, 2008), Herrick in Shelby County (March 20, 2009), DuBois in Washington County (June 6, 2009), and Brocton in Edgar County (Aug. 29, 2009) have been robbed by a lone man.

“The descriptions given from each bank have been similar, leading us to believe that it is the same subject responsible for the robberies,” said Edgar County Detective Roger Hopper. “We believe it is someone from within the robbery area.”

Each community is small and isolated near county lines, which makes response from law enforcement more delayed.

Shelby County investigator Rob McCall said that the pieces came together after the Brocton robbery.

“We’ve never stopped looking for the suspect (in the Herrick robbery). It took the Edgar County robbery to connect the dots,” McCall said.

McCall said that the Illinois State Police told him about the Brocton robbery and McCall and Hopper started talking. The two then contacted authorities in Washington and Crawford counties and began comparing notes. The four counties are also working together with the FBI and the Illinois State Police

“We’re pretty certain it’s the same guy,” McCall said. “We are now combining our efforts to get the guy identified.”

The robber was described in each case as a white male between 30 and 40 years of age, 5’5” to 5’6” tall, 180-200 pounds, with a reddish/gray/light-colored beard, wearing wire-rimmed glass, and baseball cap.

In each case the robber showed a teller a handwritten note attached to a 3-ring binder stating that he has a gun and to give him money. He never showed a gun, never said anything, never touched anything, and just walkd out the door and disappeared.

A 2000 Buick Century was also reported in the area. The car is described as a 4-door model with the rear license plate missing. It has also been reported as tan or burgundy, leading investigators to believe he may have been painting it to disguise it.

Hopper said that he discovered a distinctive deep scar near the left knee in a photo captured in the DuBois robbery and believes that scar may be a key identifier of the robber.

“Someone knows this man,” Hopper said. He added that he has followed up on a number of leads, traveling as far as Salina KS, but none have been the right man.

“If somebody gives us a name, we’ll follow up,” Hopper said.

“Networking pays off,” McCall said. “Hopefully with a four-county effort, we’ll get it solved.”