Authorities said Tuesday that they now know who went on a half-day crime spree over the weekend that started with a stolen car in Sioux Falls, S.D., and ended — at least for now — with a bank robbery in Rose­ville.

Now they just have to find him.

The suspect is identified as Clint B. Eldeen, 46, an escapee from a minimum-security prison in Sioux Falls. Eldeen was serving lengthy prison terms for check fraud, according to South Dakota prison officials, when he fled the prison Friday evening.

Police are crediting tips from the public Monday in helping them identify Eldeen. Authorities released surveillance photos showing the robbery in process Saturday at the Bremer Bank branch at 1715 W. County Road B2.

According to police:

Eldeen handed a teller a note demanding money and robbed the bank at 9:40 a.m. He left with an undisclosed amount of cash and fled in a car. Moments later, the car was found abandoned in the parking lot of the Rosedale Commons, a strip mall just west of the bank.

Randy Salas, Star Tribune
Clint B. Eldeen

Investigators later determined that the car had been stolen from a Pizza Hut delivery person in Sioux Falls about 10:50 p.m. the day before. The car's owner said he left the vehicle running and quickly ran into the Pizza Hut to pick up another order to deliver. When he returned, the car was gone.

Hours later, the car thief stole license plates from a vehicle on display at Furlong Motors in Faribault, more than 200 miles away. Then, at 3 a.m. Saturday, the suspect pulled into a Super America off Interstate 35 in Lakeville, put gas in the tank and took off without paying. Then, the suspect allegedly drove to Rose­ville, where the bank robbery occurred.

Prison officials described Eldeen as white, 5 feet 11, about 170 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482