'Stuffed Bear Bandit' Wanted For Robbing South Side Bank: FBI

CHICAGO — The FBI has increased the reward for a serial bank robber who carried a Winnie the Pooh bear to a bank robbery on the South Side in March, the feds said.

Given the violent, brazen nature of the bank robbery in addition to concerns about the suspect’s access to children, the FBI has significantly increased the reward for the newly dubbed “Stuffed Bear Bandit” to $5,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction, the feds said.

The Stuffed Bear Bandit is said to have entered the PNC Bank, 8700 South Cottage Grove, Chicago three times on March 6. The first time, he was clutching two stuffed animals, one believed to be a Winnie the Pooh plush and the other, a Dalmatian plush from “101 Dalmatians,” the FBI said.

He purportedly entered the bank a second time without the stuffed animals, and finally a third time robbed the bank. The FBI said the man threw decorative rocks at the teller window before threatening the life of an employee, demanding money and displaying a gun, before forcing an employee to the ground.

The suspect is described as a man in his 40s or 50s, with a medium build and standing between 5-foot-6 inches and 5-foot-8-inches tall. He was wearing a black skull cap, black sunglasses, gloves, black face mask, a black hooded jacket, blue jeans and brown shoes.

Anyone with information regarding the Stuffed Bear Bandit should contact the FBI's Chicago Field Office at 312-421-6700, or submit tips at tips.fbi.gov.