By By MARCIA STEFFENS / Niles Daily Star
EDWARDSBURG -- Police were searching with police dogs for a bank robbery suspect this morning, who took a hostage and forced her to drive him away in her car.
Shortly after 9 a.m. today, a man entered the Chemical Bank Shoreline in Edwardsburg and said, "This is a robbery," said officials at the Ontwa-Edwardsburg Police Department.
The bank supervisor and two tellers emptied their tills into bags, police said. The suspect took one woman hostage and made her drive him south in the women's vehicle.
He had her stop a short time later. He got out and fled on foot police said.
The women, who is yet to be identified, went to her home, which was nearby, and called the police.
At press time, police vehicles from several departments were positioned along the state line on M-62 as they continued their search for the suspect.
The investigation is continuing.
The woman's two sons were working across the parking lot from the bank at Harding's Friendly Market at the time of the robbery and were quite concerned, police said. She was apparently released unharmed.