CENTRAL CITY — Around 1 p.m. Friday the Central City branch of Farmer’s State Bank was robbed of an undetermined amount of cash by a white male gunman who ultimately took multiple agencies on a high speed chase south through town.

According to Central City Police Sgt. Nick Heath, the subject was pursued south of town by assisting agencies on Highway 51.

The subject’s vehicle was ultimately located in a field directly west of Fouts Church on Dix/Irvington Road. A female was taken into custody at that time and the male subject was taken into custody around 2:45 p.m. Police ultimately tracked him to a nearby bean field by a red barn.

Just moments after receiving the call about the armed bank robbery, a Centralia police officer noted a grey Avalanche pickup in the area that sped off when it saw him.

An attempt to stop the vehicle was unsuccessful and a pursuit ensued, heading south on Highway 51, with speeds reaching up to 110 miles per hour near the overpass.

According to Heath, Centralia and Central City police departments called in all shifts to assist in the search.

“This was the result of good, old fashioned police work,” commented Heath. “This wasn’t the result of fancy gadgets or technology that you see on CSI.”

He said the work Friday was a great example of how well law enforcement agencies can work together and what they’re capable of when they do.

Assisting agencies joined in the pursuit and ultimate search for the subjects, and included law enforcement from all surrounding agencies and Illinois State Police. Multiple K-9 units were on hand for the search and an ISP airplane also assisted in the search and apprehension of the two subjects.

The identity of the subjects had not yet been released. No injuries were reported at the bank or during the pursuit.