Getaway car had stolen tag

AUBURN— Police are hoping photographs taken by the surveillance camera of a Route 12 bank robbery Monday afternoon will lead to the arrest of a woman who took an undisclosed amount of money.

Detective Sgt. Jeffrey A. Lourie said the Worcester County Fraudulent Check Association is also offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of the robber. He declined to say how much was being offered.

He said a woman described as being in her early 20s, about 5 feet 3 inches tall, and of medium build, entered the Central One Federal Credit Union, 63 Southbridge St., and passed a note to a teller demanding money. No weapon was shown, Detective Sgt. Lourie said.

The woman, who was said to be wearing black sweatpants, a gray hooded sweatshirt, black hat, dark sunglasses and black sneakers with a white stripe in front, got into a gold or tan Mercury Sable with Massachusetts license plate 92HC70 that was driven by a dark-skinned man with a mustache, police said. The pair headed north toward Worcester, Detective Sgt. Lourie said.

The license plate on the getaway vehicle was stolen from Springfield about 30 minutes before the robbery, Detective Sgt. Lourie said.

The pictures of the woman who robbed the bank are very high quality, he said, and police hope someone will recognize her and contact police.

Detective Sgt. Lourie believes this is the first time in the 15 years he has been on the police force that a woman has robbed a bank.

Auburn has also seen two package store robberies and a gas station robbery during the last few months.

“They come in waves,” he said