NATCHEZ — The Natchez police are searching for a suspect who tried to rob the Isle of Capri Hotel, was unsuccessful on his first try and soon tried again.

Natchez Police Investigator Jerry Ford said a man wearing a hooded jacket and a bandanna over his face entered the hotel on South Canal Street early in the 4 a.m. hour Monday morning, pointing a gun at the desk clerk and demanding money.

“She immediately screamed, and when she screamed she startled him,” Ford said. “She ran into the office and locked the door, and he ran back out of the hotel at the time.”

But a review of the hotel’s security footage shows that the suspect had apparently already been in the building and been unsuccessful before the attempted robbery of the desk clerk.

“(The clerk) had walked off at one point to attend to some other business, and while she was attending to other business, (the suspect) came in and, when he didn’t see anyone, he immediately jumped over the counter,” Ford said.

“He started to open drawers to look into things, and after he couldn’t find anything in there he jumped back over the counter and walked out of the hotel.”

When the clerk returned to the front desk, the suspect was apparently waiting outside and reentered the hotel with the gun, Ford said.

The police don’t have a specific suspect in the case, Ford said, but are following up on several leads that could take them to a suspect.

Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for information that will lead to an arrest in the case. Crime Stoppers can be reached at 601-442-5000.