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Mother of Apex bank robbery suspect asks son to turn himself in

The mother of a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student who's been charged in a bank robbery in Apex is pleading with her son to turn himself in.

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APEX, N.C. — The mother of a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student who's been charged in a bank robbery in Apex is pleading with her son to turn himself in. 

"I want him to call me and/or contact the local law enforcement where he is," Diana Goodwin said in an exclusive interview with WRAL News on Friday.

Diana Goodwin said she hasn't seen or heard from her son, Gordon Miller Goodwin, 22, since Monday, when police believe he held up a Sun Trust bank inside a Kroger grocery store at 940 U.S. Highway 64.Police say the robbery happened around 6:20 p.m. when the robber handed the teller a note demanding money. 

Gordon Goodwin was named as a suspect on Wednesday. He faces a charge of common-law robbery.

Diana Goodwin said it is unusual to not hear from her son since they normally talk three or four times a day. She said she can't begin to understand what happened to cause him to end up as a suspect in a bank robbery. She said he was scheduled to graduate next  month from UNC. 

Goodwin is described as white, with brown hair. He might be driving a 2002 black Chrysler Sebring with N.C. license plate AHN9349. Authorities do not consider him dangerous.

Diana Goodwin is also appealing to law enforcement to avoid any drama when her son is eventually taken into custody.

"I would ask that they use as much restraint, as much as they safely can, in dealing with him," she said. "He's obviously functioning under some type of diminished mental or emotional reasoning capacity."

The North Carolina Bankers Association said Saturday that it's offering a "substantial reward" for information that leads to Goodwin's arrest. The amount of the reward was not released.

Anyone with information is asked to the Federal Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-209-2293.

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