FBI May 2010 Missouri photo

UPDATE: On August 11, 2010, investigators closed in on the man believed to be the suspect.  He is identified as 53-year-old Michael Mara and was taken into custody in Baton Rouge.

The FBI is kicking off a campaign to nab a man dubbed the “Granddad Bandit.”  Agents say his crime wave spills across 13 states, and he’s suspected in up to 25 robberies.  The suspect is bold, visible, and not afraid to demand what he wants.  This is why his face will be plastered on 2,000 billboards across every state in America.  He’s been on the run for 19 months since his first hit on December 19, 2008 at a SunTrust Bank in Richmond, Virginia.  When he made his getaway, it was believed he just blended into the crowd.

The FBI says the suspect usually hands tellers a note demanding money and threatening to have a weapon.  He may be traveling in a silver sports utility vehicle. The suspect may be between 50 and 60 years old, weighs about 230 pounds and may be 6 feet tall. 

A $25,000 reward is offered for any information leading to his arrest.

 Meanwhile, for the last 11 months the FBI has been hunting in Southern California for another suspect dubbed the “Geezer Bandit.”  He appears to be an elderly man robbing banks.  Most of the hits have been in San Diego County, and one in Riverside County.  His latest heist was at a Bank of America in Temecula, California.  If you take a close look at the photos, the suspect looks like someone’s grandpa, but the FBI says this grandpa is a gun-wielding bandit.  He is known to carry a small caliber pistol inside a leather case, and has threatened tellers that he will use it if they don’t cough up the cash.  Once he gets what he wants, the suspect walks out of the bank.