LYMAN — Law enforcement are looking for two men after an alleged botched theft at the Wells Fargo Bank in Lyman, which left the suspects with less money than when the entered the bank. According to the Lyman Police Department, the incident happened around 11:15 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 26.

Lyman officers, along with a Uinta County Sheriff’s Office deputy and a Mountain View police officer responded to the bank, but the two men, described as Latinos between the ages of 25 and 30, had already fled.

A press release posted on the Lyman Police Department’s Facebook page described the suspects and the incident, which the post referred to as a “bunco” type theft. 

“One of the male subjects approached a teller while the other man stood behind watching,” according to the release. “The first subject provided the teller with $4,200 in hundred-dollar bills, asking the teller to change them for fifty-dollar bills. Once the teller gave him the $4,200 in fifty-dollar bills, the subject “palmed” approximately half of the stack.”

The man immediately gave a portion of the money back to the teller, asking to change $4,200 into pesos. When the teller told the man he couldn’t exchange it for pesos, the man asked for the full $4,200 back, even though when the teller returned the fifties they only added up to $1,800.

“The alert bank personnel observed this sleight of hand attempt,” according to the press release.

The assistant manager saw what was happening and asked the man for ID, at which point he and his partner ran out the door. The assistant manager called 911, but could not provide a vehicle description nor a direction of travel.

However, the would-be thieves left behind some valuables — $1,800 worth of fifty-dollar bills.

“In their hasty departure,” according to the press release, “the suspects left without their original $4,200 in hundred-dollar bills and only managed to escape with $2,400 of fifty-dollar bills, leaving the bank with an $1,800 overage…”

The suspects had not been identified or apprehended by press time Thursday.  

“An attempt to locate was issued for all Uinta County law enforcement,” the release states, “but with very limited information, the suspects were not located.”

Investigators said they believe the two suspects may have been passing through and have attempted similar thefts in other areas.

One suspect is described as a 25- to 30-year-old Latino male approximately 5-foot, 3-inches tall. He was wearing a black leather jacket with an Unk color logo, blue jeans, black leather shoes and a blue and gold Los Angeles Rams baseball cap.

The second suspect is also described as being a Latino man, 25-30 years old. He is approximately 5-foot, 3-inches tall, wearing a leather jacket with leather sleeves and a fur collar, blue jeans and black leather pull-on shoes.

Those who might have information about the men or the attempted theft can call the Lyman Police Department at (307) 787-6500 or the Uinta County Sheriff’s Office at (307) 783-1000.