Oct. 31--Two men suspected of robbing a bank and shooting two law enforcement officers during an hour-long chase were apprehended just north of here at 6:58 p.m. Tuesday, according to Iowa State Patrol spokesman Bob Conrad.
"They were arrested without incident, no shots fired. That's a good outcome compared with the way things looked earlier today," Conrad said.
The men, whose names won't be released until Wednesday, were apprehended when they tried to crawl through a perimeter about three-fourths mile north of town on County Road D5C, he said.
"It was good police work on the part of some Waterloo police officers who heard something and investigated," Conrad said.
More than 50 officers participated in the manhunt that began early Tuesday afternoon following the robbery of the Maynard Savings Bank at 11:13 a.m.
After shooting a State Patrol officer and the Sumner police chief, the white male suspects abandoned their vehicle at a quarry west of here and disappeared into a wooded area, according to Jessica Lown, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Public Safety.
The wounded officers are Sumner Police Chief Dennis Cain and Mark Domino, a state trooper stationed at Mason City.
Conrad said Cain is in stable but critical condition following surgery for wounds to his neck, thumb and hand. "His wounds are no longer considered life threatening," he said at 7:20 last night while announcing the arrests.
Domino, a 30 year veteran of the State Patrol, was treated for a through-and-through wound to his right bicep and released, Conrad said.
Lown said a 2-mile-square perimeter had been established west of town, and officers from multiple agencies, including the FBI and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, participated in the search.
Before dark, search officers had eliminated all potential hiding areas west of the Wapsipinicon River, Conrad said.
Two Iowa State Patrol tactical teams cleared buildings and other potential hideouts within the search area, according to Conrad.
Just before sundown a helicopter from the Minnesota State Patrol joined the search.
Conrad said the search team had enough observers to prevent the suspects from getting through the perimeter unseen.
Officers both on the ground and in aircraft had night vision equipment, he said.
Lown said no shots were fired at the bank and no one was injured.
Officers identified the vehicle and pursued it until 12:20 p.m., when the suspects abandoned it and fled on foot, she said.
People living within the search perimeter were advised to lock their doors and remove keys from vehicles, Lown said.
Dena Gray-Fisher, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Transportation, said DOT enforcement officers joined the pursuit and one of their vehicles was shot but none of the DOT officers was injured.
Lt. Dave Eick of the Iowa State Patrol said two airplanes, one with a heat-sensing unit, participated in the search.
The Farmers Savings Bank in Frederika population 183, was robbed at gunpoint on Oct. 23, and officers subsequently arrested a Waterloo man, Steven Vandewalker, and charged him with the crime.
Copyright 2012 - The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
