Last week’s robbery of a bank inside Westmoreland Mall got a mention on ‘America’s Most Wanted’ Saturday during an update on the search for federal fugitive Clayton Lee Waagner. And Monday, the man in charge of the search for Waagner indicated the Venango County resident may have been involved in a bank robbery in Lancaster the day before the Hempfield Township heist. Saturday’s episode of the Fox Broadcasting Co. show updated viewers on Waagner’s indictment last week in federal court for robbing the First Union Bank inside Harrisburg’s Colonial Park Mall on May 17. The television show also showed a surveillance image from last Tuesday’s robbery at the S&T Bank inside the Westmoreland Mall and indicated that Waagner, who has said he is on a mission from God to kill abortion providers, may have been involved in that robbery as well. FBI Special Agent William Crowley had said Friday that the possibility was being explored. Yesterday, another robbery Waagner may have been involved with came to light. Supervisory U.S. Marshal Bruce Harmening, who leads the task force that has pursued Waagner since he escaped from the DeWitt County Jail in Clinton, Ill., in February, confirmed Waagner was being investigated in the local robbery and one in Lancaster June 4. Harmening said the FBI is investigating the robberies while the U.S. Marshal Service is pursuing Waagner as an escapee. He added the Harrisburg robbery is the only one in which Waagner has been indicted. ‘I’ve seen the surveillance photos on that and I believe it’s him,’ Harmening said. In the Hempfield Township and Lancaster robberies, the surveillance photos have not been as clear, Harmening said. ‘We are exploring the possibility of Waagner being involved in other robberies,’ he said. ‘We have no evidence that it was him, but the FBI is looking into the robberies.’ Lancaster city police Detective Lt. John V. Yost said yesterday that he was not aware of any connection between Waagner and the June 4 robbery of the Farmers First Bank inside Park City Center, a shopping mall. In that robbery, a white male entered the bank just before 2 p.m.. He showed the teller a handgun and demanded money. He exited the mall through Boscov’s department store, Yost said. The suspect was about 6 feet tall and wore a baseball cap and a button-down shirt. Yost said FBI officials in Harrisburg are investigating the robbery and might be able to comment on any connection with Waagner. An agent at that field office directed calls to a media representative in Philadelphia. She did not return a call for comment yesterday afternoon. Waagner, of Kennerdell, Venango County, was awaiting sentencing on a federal firearms violation when he escaped from jail. He used a plastic pocket comb to jimmy open a door to enable his escape, federal authorities have said. Waagner has said that God ordered him to kill doctors who perform abortions. He has testified in court that he had staked out at least 100 clinics in 19 states but was unable to shoot any doctors. Waagner was arrested in Oakwood, Ill., Sept. 12, 1999, by Illinois State Police during a routine traffic stop. Police found that the recreational vehicle Waagner was driving was stolen. His wife and eight children were with him when the stop was made. When police searched the vehicle, they found numerous semi-automatic handguns. Officers found Waagner was wanted on outstanding warrants in three states, and he was arrested. Deputy U.S. marshals found a list of alleged abortion clinics, a weapons manifest and contacts with fringe anti-abortion groups on Waagner’s computer. He was convicted Dec. 6, 2000, on the federal charges and faced a sentence of 15 years to life in prison. Harmening said the Marshals Service has followed up on more than 200 leads from the five times Waagner has been featured on ‘America’s Most Wanted.’ ‘There’s been some valuable tips come from that,’ he said. Waagner is the top priority for the U.S. Marshals Service, Harmening said. ‘He is obviously armed, and he is facing most of the rest of his life in prison, and any person or fugitive in that position is dangerous,’ he said. Waagner is a skilled outdoorsman and survivalist. Harmening said he could be hiding in the Allegheny National Forest. ‘There’s been speculation from several people that he could be hiding there,’ Harmening said. ‘He has hidden there in the past, but we don’t know.’ And while Waagner has a home in Venango County, Harmening said the fugitive has been to every state in the eastern United States. So he could be anywhere. Waagner, 44, is described as a white male, 6 feet, 1 inch tall, weighing 175 to 220 pounds with brown hair and green eyes. He may be driving a 1970s tan Volvo with a Texas license plate, according to the ‘America’s Most Wanted’ Web site. In the Harrisburg robbery, Waagner allegedly walked into the bank armed with a handgun. He demanded money from a teller. He was not wearing a mask, and a deputy U.S. marshal recognized him from a surveillance video. State police said the suspect in last Tuesday’s S&T Bank robbery walked into the bank wearing a dark hat and sunglasses and showed tellers a handgun. He directed them to put money into a blue bag he was carrying. The Westmoreland Mall robber walked toward the crowded lunchtime food court and disappeared. Troopers stopped and searched several men matching his description, but the robber never turned up. That robber was described as a white male in his 30s or 40s, 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing 185 pounds with brown hair. Anyone with information about Waagner’s whereabouts is asked to call the U.S. Marshals Service at 1-877-926-8332.

Copyright ©2026— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)