Bank security images from Wednesday night’s armed heist at the Chase bank branch at Broadway and Thomas showing the uniquely featured and pistol-packing suspect have been released by SPD as detectives continue to search for the man.

Described as “a white male in his 30′s to 40′s, 6’0″ to 6’2″ tall” with “orange skin, a tear drop tattoo under both eyes, long red hair, and last seen wearing a tan knit hat with an orange stripe, a red jacket and light blue jeans,” according to SPD, officers searching for witnesses along Broadway following the just after 6 PM hold-up also said the man has a complexion best described as “George Hamilton”-like or a fake tan.

According to police radio broadcasts Wednesday night, officers believed the suspect was an individual known to police but he has apparently thus far eluded capture. A report of a man with a teardrop tattoo inside a nearby Broadway store Thursday afternoon brought a rapid SPD response but it turned out to not be the suspect, according to police radio.

CHS has been told the suspect fled the bank empty-handed.

SPD has also released more details from Wednesday night’s hold-up:

Just after 6:00 p.m. officers responded to a 911 call of a robbery at the Chase Bank in the 300 block of Broadway Avenue East.  The suspect — dubbed the “Tan Man Bandit” by detectives — entered the bank, pushed a demand note through the bandit barrier window and flashed a handgun.  The bank teller refused to comply with the suspect’s demands and the suspect fled the bank without any money. No one was injured during the robbery.

The suspect is described as a white male with a medium build, 20 to 30 years old, 6’ to 6’2” tall, long, stringy, red or auburn hair (which may have been a wig), unshaven auburn-colored facial hair, and possibly teardrop facial tattoo under one or both of his eyes. The suspect was last seen wearing a red jacket, blue jeans, and a knit hat with an orange stripe — matching the color of his skin.  Witnesses at the bank told police the suspect’s skin was orange, possibly from a spray-on tan.

Anyone with information about this incident or who may know the identity or whereabouts of the suspect is asked to call the Seattle Police Robbery Unit at (206) 684-5535.  Anonymous tips are welcome.

A brief history of recent bank robberies on Capitol Hill

Meanwhile, CHS has reported on the increasing number of banks, credit unions and things financial opening on Broadway. With Wednesday night’s reported robbery of the Broadway Chase bank, CHS wondered just how many bank robberies actually occur in our part of the city.

Given the drama around a bank heist, the events have an outsized reputation — in reviewing the CHS archives, full-on bank robbery attempts are rare events around the Hill. We count ten — and we had to include First Hill *and* a credit union — since 2009:

1. Chase, 301 Broadway E, 2/27/13 — Police search for suspect after reported armed hold-up at Broadway bank
2. US Bank, Broadway/E Olive Way, 12/31/12 — Police investigating New Year’s Eve bank heist on Capitol Hill
3. Wells Fargo, 15th/John, 5/1/12 — Police search for suspect in Capitol Hill Safeway bank robbery
4. US Bank, Broadway/E Olive Way, 7/6/11 — Capitol Hill bank robbery suspect arrested
5. US Bank, 1200 Madison, 8/10/11— Man wanted for downtown bank robbery and child porn nabbed after First Hill bank hold-up
6. Key Bank, 1224 Madison, 3/15/11 — FBI releases security images of man suspected in First Hill bank robbery
7. Bank of America, Madison at Minor, 2/10/11 — Cops on hunt after morning Madison B of A hold-up
8. Group Health Credit Union, 115 15th Ave E, 9/3/09 — Group Health Credit Union on 15th Ave robbed
9. Chase, Broadway at Pike, 6/24/09 — Harvard Market bank robbery suspect was easy to spot
10. Wells Fargo, 15th/John, 4/27/09 — Cap Hill grocery store Wells Fargo robbed Saturday: Pictures of suspect