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Bomb squad called to evacuated Alpine Bank in West Glenwood

Staff report
Glenwood Springs Post Independent
A member of the Grand Junction Police Department Bomb Squad heads over to the Alpine Bank in West Glenwood after a suspicious package was left inside on Thursday morning.
Chelsea Self/Glenwood Springs Post Independent

A man forced his way into the Alpine Bank branch in West Glenwood Thursday morning, following an employee inside as she unlocked the door just before 9 a.m. and then putting down a “suspicious-looking package,” Police Chief Terry Wilson said.

The bank branch was evacuated, and during the afternoon, a Mesa County bomb squad cleared the box left behind.

The man fled, discarding articles of clothing along the way. Police, who were still checking around the area Thursday afternoon, do not have a suspect in the case, Wilson said. All that is known about the man is that he has a dark complexion and has a deep voice. He also was wearing a dark hoodie with the drawstrings tight so that little of his face showed.

Wilson confirmed that the man made off with some money, though he declined to specify how much. Investigators can use that detail in future interviews to confirm the credibility of information they’re hearing, he said.

Glenwood Springs Middle School was on lock-down, and parents of students at Two Rivers Community School were informed by text message that the school was on “lock-in.”

By 12:30 p.m., a Glenwood Springs Post Independent photographer saw people leaving the area and Two Rivers had confirmed that its lock-in order had been lifted. Later, two robots and a member of the bomb squad were seen entering the building.

Authorities “established a path” along which the man fled, and for a time went door-to-door in the area, Wilson said.

The Alpine branch is in the Glenwood Springs Mall parking lot and Wilson said the man fled toward Glenwood Springs Ford, which is west across Storm King Road.