SUSPECTED ARMED ROBBER STILL AT LARGE

A new Cape Girardeau resident asked the wrong person for directions near Cape Girardeau Central High School on Monday afternoon, and it cost her some cash.

About 1:15 p.m., a 22-year-old woman got lost attempting to drive to Schnuck's grocery store, and pulled over at the intersection of Themis and Caruthers to ask a man for directions, reported Cape Girardeau Police Sgt. Kevin Orr.

The man reportedly leaned inside the car through a window, produced a semi-automatic pistol, and demanded money.

The girl complied, turning over an undetermined amount of cash. The robber fled on foot, north on Caruthers. When the woman notified police, Cape Girardeau Central High School resource officer Rob Barker was alerted.

Because the robber did not run toward the high school, no special actions such as locking the school doors were taken, said Orr. But had the robber fled in the direction of the school, measures to protect students would have been made, he said.

"If the person had gone toward the high school, there's no question," said the sergeant. "But this person didn't, and Rob was notified."

Police do have a suspect, said Orr, although the robber remained at-large as of Tuesday night.