Bank robber says he’s near death

ROY, Utah – Police are searching for a man who robbed a Utah bank after passing a note to a teller claiming he only has four months to live.

The man who robbed the Wells Fargo Bank in Roy late Friday afternoon also is suspected of robbing Ireland Bank in Pocatello, Idaho, earlier in the day, Roy police Chief Gregory Whinham said.

Whinham told Ogden’s Standard-Examiner that it hasn’t been determined whether the man’s claim that he’s dying is true or a ruse.

“Our goal is to find a man acting irrationally because of a medical issue before someone gets hurt,” he said. “I don’t believe we are looking for a hardened criminal but a man who may be desperate.”

Pocatello police Lt. Paul Manning said Saturday that he’s not aware of the suspect conveying a similar message during the Idaho bank robbery early Friday afternoon.