78-Year-Old Missouri Woman on the Lam After Bank Robbery

Bonnie Gooch has been described as "wily" and "off her rocker"

Jul 26, 2023 at 10:09 am

Bonnie Gooch booking photo from Pleasant Hill PD.

Bonnie Gooch's booking photo from Pleasant Hill Police Department.

Authorities in Cass County have issued a warrant for 78-year-old Bonnie Gooch after she missed a court date on Monday during which she was set to be arraigned on charges stemming from an alleged April bank robbery.

That bank robbery occurred at the Goppert Financial Bank in Pleasant Hill, a city of about 8,000 people that's a 40-minute drive south of Kansas City.

Speaking to the local Fox affiliate, the Pleasant Hill police chief described Gooch as "wily," noting that she robbed the bank wearing an N-95 mask, sunglasses and gloves.

According to KMBC, Gooch passed the teller a note saying, “Is is a robbery I need 13,000 small bills no! dye pack!" She added, "thank you sorry I didn’t mean to scare you.” She was arrested when police responding to the robbery pulled over her would-be getaway car.

Gooch remained in jail for two months before being released on bond. After missing Monday's arraignment, her whereabouts are currently unknown.

The Pleasant Hill heist was actually the third time Gooch has been accused of robbing a bank.

Gooch was previously found guilty of robbing a bank in 2020 in Lee's Summit, also in the Kansas City area, according to Fox4KC. In that incident, her son called police saying that his mother had left their home in a fit of anger, “saying she was going to rob a bank." He described his mom as “off her rocker.”

Gooch was convicted of that robbery in February of 2021 and received probation.

In 1977, when Gooch was in her early 30s, she was found guilty of robbing a bank in California.