KNOXVILLE -- The FBI says a bank executive and his family have been released after being kidnapped at gunpoint and the man forced to withdraw money from the bank.
FBI spokeswoman Joyce McCants told multiple media outlets the employee was forced to withdraw an undisclosed amount of money Tuesday morning from a SmartBank branch in Knoxville. His wife flagged down workers and told one of them that she and her infant son were taken to an unfamiliar location in West Knox County.
Ed Reinhold, the FBI special agent in charge of the Knoxville office, said it's possible the kidnappers are the same people who kidnapped a credit union CEO's family three months ago.
Officials say the armed group forced SmartBank first vice president Tanner Harris to withdraw cash from the bank while his family was held hostage.