It’s safe to say that many of us who are fortunate enough to call the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau home live relatively charmed lives.
Highlands and Cashiers, like any towns in America have problems, from drug addiction to food insecurity and everything in between. But the community as a whole in our humble hamlets is generally safe from major crime, our schools are excellent, we have the social services we need available via a bevy of amazing governmental and nonprofit organizations, and our citizens are kind and giving.
Maybe that is what makes Tuesday morning’s events so troublesome.
Word spread like wildfire that a man, potentially with an explosive device strapped to his person, tried to rob the Wells Fargo bank in Cashiers at approximately 11:15 a.m. Highlands Police officers responded to Cashiers to assist and immediately began notifying businesses, specifically banks and major population centers, on the Plateau about the incident.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office responded to the bank and was able to clear the area via an extensive afternoon search on foot and by vehicle, but the suspect was able to flee the scene. The suspect was described by Jackson County Sheriff Doug Farmer as a Spanish-speaking male, wearing a gray sweatshirt, gray facemask, and a dark colored jacket. Investigators now believe that the supposed explosive device, which featured wires wrapped around the suspect’s torso and an improvised detonator, to be fake, however that has not yet been confirmed.
Brazen bank robbery attempts by suspects armed with explosives, real or not, simply don’t happen in Highlands and Cashiers. Citizens, business owners and public officials, especially those who live and work near the bank, were notably shaken by the series of events and rightfully so.
What happened Tuesday morning in Cashiers should serve as a reminder that despite our high quality of life in Highlands and Cashiers we are not immune from dangerous and scary situations. While major crimes are exceedingly rare, they do still happen.
Let’s be thankful for the work of all the law enforcement agencies who responded to the bank robbery call, thankful that no one was injured in the incident, and hopeful that the person responsible will be brought to justice.