The FBI Anchorage Field Office is seeking information from the public regarding an attempted bank robbery at the First National Bank Alaska branch at 1210 W Northern Lights Blvd in Anchorage on Thursday, Aug. 8.
At approximately 5:38 p.m., an unknown female suspect entered the bank, produced a note to one of the bank employees, and verbally demanded money. The unknown suspect then grabbed the note from the employee and fled from the area on a bicycle.
Witnesses described the suspect as a female approximately 5’ tall. She wore a dark-colored, cold-weather coat, a face mask, and gloves.
This isn’t Anchorage’s first brush with bank robberies in the last 12 months. In late summer 2023, a local knocked off the same credit union twice in just over one month before being arrested.
20-year-old Etuale Ioane of Anchorage allegedly stole more than $3,400 after robbing the Credit Union 1 branch on Debarr Road in July and August.
The Anchorage Police Department received a tip on Aug. 30 stating that Ioane was the suspect. He was in a van near a grocery store on East Northern Lights Boulevard. Local officers located and detained Ioane shortly after receiving the tip. A search warrant was executed on Ioane’s residence, and clothing consistent with those worn by the suspect in both July and August robberies was recovered.
Then, in September, another man robbed a Global Credit Union Branch. Tyler Ching, 34, entered the GCU on Industry Way in Anchorage on Sept. 19. He approached two customers who were speaking with a bank teller and pointed what appeared to be a handgun at them. Ching placed a bag on the counter and demanded the teller put money inside, then left the credit union with roughly $2,320.