CATOOSA, Okla. -- A helicopter believed used in the daring daylight robbery of a Louisiana bank last week was found Tuesday near Tulsa, the FBI said.
FBI spokesman Gene Pogue said the partially covered maroon-and-white craft was found by a farmer in a field near Catoosa, northeast of Tulsa.
He said there was no trace of the five bank robbery suspects and FBI agents were trying to find witnesses who might have seen the chopper land.
Pogue said a check of the craft's serial number showed it matched the one used in last Wednesday's robbery of $160,000 from the Merchants and Farmers Bank and Trust Co. in Leesville, La.
Four bandits masquerading as police and armed with machine guns and high-powered rifles swooped down in a maroon-and-white helicopter last week, robbed the bank of nearby Fort Polk's payroll and fled, authorities said. No shots were fired and no one was injured.
The FBI said the helicopter was stolen in Galveston, Texas, and flown to Louisiana for the heist.
