Durham bank manager kidnapped

DURHAM -- Police are searching for two men and a woman who kidnapped a bank manager this morning and took him to his bank on North Duke Street, where he was released unharmed.

The manager was near his home on Pineburr Place, taking his 13-year-old daughter to school about 7:30 a.m., when a vehicle bumped his car from behind, causing minor damage, according to a news release issued by police spokeswoman Kammie Michael.

When the manager got out of his vehicle, the three confronted him at gunpoint and forced him back into his car, Michael said. They placed his daughter in the trunk of vehicle they were driving, but the girl was able to escape and flag down a Durham County sheriff's deputy. The vehicle had been reported stolen earlier.

The manager told officers the three kidnappers forced him to drive to Newby Drive, which is behind the Bank of America at 3807 North Duke Street.

Alerted by the daughter, Durham police officers went to the bank, where they found the manager's car in the parking lot. The bank manager, who was uninjured, came out of the bank several minutes later.

At first, officers were not sure whether the kidnappers had left the area, so members of the Selective Enforcement Team entered the bank and determined that they were not inside. Officers shut down North Duke Street from Holt School Road to Fairfield Road while they surrounded the bank.

The three kidnappers apparently fled in a silver sport utility vehicle. Michael described the three as black and said no other identifying details were available.

Michael declined to say whether money was taken from the bank, referring questions to the FBI, which handles bank robbery cases.

A spokeswoman for the Bank of America declined to comment except to say that "the safety and security of our associates and customers are our highest priority." The bank manager, whose name could not immediately be confirmed, declined to speak to reporters.