Oregon Authorities Searching for Relatives of Deceased Bank Robbery Suspect

The FBI, Oregon State Police, and Ontario, Oregon authorities are still trying to find any relatives of a bank robbery suspect who committed suicide during a chase.

Monday, authorities released the name of the suspect linked to the April 10th, 2014 attempted robbery of the Bank of the West in Ontario.

71-year-old Joseph Thomas Johnston, say authorities, tried to hold up the bank, then was chased by police.  He pulled over on an area road south of Ontario and fatally shot himself.  Since the robbery, law enforcement officials have been trying to locate any relatives.

Police say he was reportedly from Mojave Valley, Arizona, where he lived alone in a trailer park.  He reportedly left the park March 1st. of this year, heading to an unknown location in the Pacific Northwest to help care for a friend who was said to be ill.

Police found ten oxygen tanks in his 1987 Dodge pickup Johnston used for medical purposes,  he was also a diabetic.

Authorities have not been able to contact any family or relatives, and are asking the public for additional information.  He is said to have ties to Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Arizona, Texas and other states.

Anyone with information can contact the Oregon State Patrol at (541)-889-6469.

The pictures of Johnston are from 2012, 2010 and 2007 respectively.   Authorities did not say where they got the photos.