The suspect in an armed bank robbery in Wellsville was taken into custody in Callaway County on Thursday morning. Auxvasse Elementary School and North Callaway High School were both put on temporary lockout due to their proximity to the incident.
Auxvasse Police officer Danny O'Rourke was on duty when a BOLO (Be On the Look Out) went out that a suspect wanted for armed robbery of the Martinsburg Bank, located in Wellsville, was thought to be traveling west on State Route B toward Auxvasse in Callaway County.
Auxvasse Police Chief Kevin Suedmeyer said O'Rourke drove to State Route B and was passed by the suspect's vehicle. According to a press release, a vehicle chase ensued through Auxvasse through the county before the suspect crashed on Old Highway 54 near the intersection with Highway 54.
Suedmeyer said the suspect exited the vehicle and tried to run on foot, but was apprehended by O'Rourke with assistance from the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Callaway County Sheriff's Office. The suspect - who has not yet been identified - was transferred into the custody of the Wellsville Police Department. The FBI is en-route to interview the suspect.
"It was a matter of the police being in the right spot at the right time," Suedmeyer said. "Everything was handled the way it was supposed to be handled, and it went perfectly."
The Callaway County Sheriff's Office called the North Callaway R-I district office at 11:55 a.m. and requested the high school and Auxvasse Elementary be put on lockout because of their proximity to the chase and arrest.
Assistant Superintendent Nicky Kemp said the school received the call that it was safe to lift the lockout at 12:07 p.m. Kemp said news of the incident went out on the district's notification system.
She said a school being on lockout means that all entrances are on lockdown, but "everything inside gets to resume as normal."