Suspect arrested following western Wisconsin bank robbery

A Minnesota woman is in custody after an armed robbery at Eagle Valley Bank in St. Croix Falls Friday morning.

Tanya Kay Anderson, 39, of Stanchfield, Minn. was arrested and charged with armed robbery. She was also arrested on a 2008 Wisconsin warrant for writing worthless checks.

According to the Polk County Sheriff's Department, a 911 call was received by dispatch at around 11:25 a.m. Friday, Sept. 7, concerning a robbery at the downtown bank, 102 N. Washington St., St. Croix Falls.

Bank employees reported that a woman entered the bank at 11:16 a.m. wearing a yellow safety vest, a baseball cap and sunglasses. She showed a note to a teller, advising of a robbery and ordering the teller to give her money. There was a threat of a weapon, although no weapon was seen by the teller.

The teller complied with the demands, according to the sheriff's report, and the suspect immediately left the bank with an undisclosed amount of money.

Bank employees called 911 and were able to provide a description of the woman, as well as a description of the car she left in. The car traveled south toward Hwy. 8.

A St. Croix Falls Police Department sergeant saw a vehicle that fit the description turn west on Hwy. 8. He stopped the car, and the suspect was taken into custody. The stolen money as well as other evidence was allegedly recovered from the suspect's vehicle.

The joint investigation of the bank robbery continues by the St. Croix Falls Police Department and the Polk County Sheriff's Office, with assistance from the FBI.

Anyone with additional information about the bank robbery is encouraged to contact the St. Croix Falls police at 715-483-9282 or the sheriff's office at 715-485-8300.

The same bank was robbed on March 2, 2012. No one has been arrested in that robbery.

Tags: area news, crime