A bomb threat was called in on LifeStore bank in Boone less than an hour  after a bank robbery occurred in Linville.

 

A man robbed the High Country Bank in Linville at about 3 p.m. Wednesday, leaving the scene in a green older-model Honda Civic, according to reporters on scene with The Avery Journal-Times.

A suspect was described as a white male, early 20s to early 30s, wearing light-colored Carhartt pants and a blue shirt.

 

Then, at about 3:40 p.m., someone called with a bomb threat to the LifeStore bank at 1675 Blowing Rock Road, Boone. Police evacuated the bank and began searching for suspicious items, said Capt. Jim Wilson of the Boone Police Department.

 

Police found nothing suspicious and cleared the scene at about 5 p.m., Wilson said.

 

Police were also stationed at other banks throughout town in case the threat was meant to be a diversion, Wilson said.

 

The fire department and the police department's bomb squad were kept on standby during the incident but would not be called unless something suspicious was found, Wilson said.

 

"We take every threat as seriously as if we knew there was something in there," he said.

Wilson said he did not know whether the call was made directly to the bank or to 911 operators, and he did not have any information about the caller as of Wednesday afternoon.

 

Please see Friday's Watauga Democrat for more on the robbery and bomb threat.