CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — A man’s attempt at an April Fool’s Day prank sparked a police response and criminal charges after he handed a bank teller a note reading “Help!!” at the Atomic Credit Union on Western Avenue in Chillicothe, prompting fears of a robbery or kidnapping, authorities said.
The incident occurred on April Fool’s Day at approximately 4:21 p.m., when deputies from the Ross County Sheriff’s Office were sent to the bank on a welfare check. According to an investigative report, a teller reported that customer Christopher McCloud had passed her a signed receipt with “Help!!” scrawled in blue ink while using the drive-thru, accompanied by several others in a silver Jeep Commander.
Bank staff, alarmed by the note and McCloud’s unusually quiet demeanor, contacted law enforcement.
“Believing that this could likely be either a robbery or kidnapping in progress, all three of us responded to the scene with our emergency lights and sirens activated,” deputies wrote.
At the bank, deputies met the branch managers. Security footage showed McCloud in the front passenger seat, driven by Tiara Walton, with an unidentified man in the back. The manager said McCloud folded the receipt to conceal the note from his companions, heightening her suspicion. Managers provided screenshots, the receipt, and written statements, identifying McCloud via his mugshot and driver’s license, and Walton via her BMV photo. The bank’s legal team was notified, and the bank unsuccessfully tried calling McCloud six times.
Meanwhile, deputies searched for McCloud at his last known address in Scioto Woods apartments, finding he no longer lived there. After learning of Walton’s possible connection, deputies went to her house in Chillicothe, where her daughters facilitated a phone call. McCloud admitted it was a joke, claiming he thought the teller overheard him and Walton discussing it. The pair agreed to meet deputies at America’s Best Value Inn on East Main Street.
There, McCloud was “immediately apologetic,” deputies said, explaining they wrote “Help!!” for laughs, unaware it was April Fool’s Day until deputies pointed it out.
“I asked Christopher why he didn’t just tell the bank teller that she had a spider on her head like normal people do on April Fool’s Day,” deputies noted. Deputies stressed the gravity of the stunt, citing news reports of kidnappings involving forced bank withdrawals, but opted for leniency due to McCloud’s honesty.
McCloud was issued two citations—Inducing Panic and Making False Alarms—instead of an arrest. He promised to write an apology letter to the bank.
Atomic Credit Union officials declined immediate comment. McCloud faces potential fines or further penalties pending court proceedings.