Eric Knoles/SNS
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| ��Shawnee Chief of Police Hank Land, left, Pottawatomie County Deputy Sergeant J.R. Kidney, middle, and Shawnee Police Detective R.L. Gribble map out a search area Thursday for two bank robbers near Shawnee. The suspects fled a vehicle in a pasture just north of Shawnee after robbing a bank of an unknown amout of cash.
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By JEFF BILLINGTON
The bank, American National Bank at 4500 N. Harrison, was robbed at gunpoint by two white males at approximately 1:30 p.m., Shawnee Police Detective R.L. Gribble said. The amount of cash taken was unknown, but the men apparently used two 9mm handguns and possibly a sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun to rob the bank.
The two suspects were identified as Kevin Collins, 26, described as 6 feet 2 inches tall, approximately 180 pounds with short dark hair and wearing dark clothing, and Jason Collins, 20, 6 feet 2 inches tall, 180 pounds with a slender build, and short brown hair.
The two were described as clean shaven and apparently live in Oklahoma City, according to officials. The vehicle driven by the two was apparently taken from their parents' home in Oklahoma City, but it was not known whether it was stolen. The younger Collins is thought to also have attention deficit disorder.
Detective Gribble was in the area when the robbery took place, and found the suspects speeding in their vehicle west on 45th Street from the bank. The suspects fled westbound toward Acme Road, reaching speeds up to 100 mph, he said. Gribble followed the suspects' vehicle as it turned north on Acme, where the detective attempted to follow.
At one point the suspects made a U-turn and drove toward Gribble's vehicle, and the detective said the two made movements toward the back seat of the vehicle, possibly looking for a weapon.
The suspects then drove northbound on Acme where Gribble lost sight of their vehicle for a short time, until they turned onto Scenic Drive, a dead-end road.
They drove their car through a barbed wire fence into a field, where they struck another fence and fled the vehicle. Police found a sawed-off shotgun and several 12-gauge shotgun shells inside the vehicle after the suspects fled into the woods.
Shawnee Police Officers and Pottawatomie County Sheriff's deputies cordoned off several square miles from EW 110 and EW 111, to Acme Road and Coker Road in order to search for the fugitives.
The tactical team from the Shawnee Police Department was the first to enter the area, with tactical teams from the Pottawatomie County Sheriff's Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol entering the search later in the afternoon.
Search dogs from the Department of Corrections, along with a plane from the OHP and several helicopters helped in the search for the two suspects. The search for the two was expected to continue overnight.
Ken Fullbright, a vice president of American National Bank, said the employees of the facility handled the situation properly.
"Our people handled their jobs as they were trained to do," he said. "No one was physically hurt, that is the important thing."
SNS Staff Writer
A massive manhunt was undertaken Thursday afternoon in north Pottawatomie County for two men suspected of robbing a Shawnee bank.