Woman had a butcher knife

PHILOMATH - The bar at the Wing Sing Restaurant was robbed by a masked woman with a butcher knife on Thursday night, and police are asking the public for information regarding the case.

No one was hurt and though patrons chased after the suspect, they weren't able to get the license plate of her white, four-door sedan.

Witnesses said the woman was about 5-foot-8 and heavyset with curly blond hair.

"Everybody here was more shocked and surprised at what was going on than scared," said Wing Sing manager Wayne Lee. When the woman walked in, Lee and about six other patrons were in the lounge of the restaurant, at 658 Main St., at the west end of town.

The suspect had a hood on over her hat, and wore pantyhose as a mask, said bar patron David Murphy.

"I noticed a knife in her hand, and she was saying, 'I want your money,'" Lee said.

"She didn't actually threaten anybody with the knife, she just held it close to her body," said Ofc. Ryan Keys of the Philomath Police Department.

The suspect, who seemed nervous, went to the cash register and opened it up. "Apparently, she knew where all the buttons were," Lee said. No one initially tried to confront her. When she left, Lee called 9-1-1.

"She hit the door, and I was like, 'C'mon, let's go get her,'" Murphy said. "My instincts said, 'Help out.'"

He and a friend gave chase as the woman cut behind the Wing Sing, then east toward Seventh Street. The woman couldn't run fast, but the men didn't try to confront her, Murphy said, because they knew she had a butcher knife with a nine-inch blade.

Murphy tried to get the car's license plate as the woman sped away but couldn't. "It was too dark and she was hurling gravel at me," he said.

The Wing Sing hadn't been robbed in its 30 years, Lee said. His parents, who own the business, have operated restaurants for 50 years and never had one robbed before.

"Luckily it was a slow night and everybody here paid by plastic," Lee said.

While the robbery was unfortunate, Lee said the response of his patrons made him feel glad.

"You do good things for them, they do good things for you," Lee said. "It's a small community, you know."

The Woodsman, just west on Main Street, also apparently had an encounter with the same woman Thursday night.

"She was lurking near the cash register when we were cleaning up at night. There were no customers in here," said waiter Eddy Mydouangchanh.

The woman said there was something wrong with the poker machine, then went to the bathroom. When she came out, she was standing near the register. Mydouangchanh said she left on her own.

Those with information about the case should call Officer Ryan Keys at 929-6911. "We've had a couple of tips, but none of them have really panned out," Keys said.

Kyle Odegard can be contacted at kyle.odegard@lee.net or 758-9523.