LA JOLLA, Calif. -- A neatly-dressed elderly male robber carrying an oxygen tank presented a demand note to a teller at a La Jolla bank Saturday and fled on foot with an unknown amount of cash, police said.

The heist was reported at 10:12 a.m. at the San Diego National Bank in the 7800 block of Ivanhoe Ave., according to San Diego police Sgt. Ray Battrick.

It was unclear whether the man had a weapon, the sergeant said. The robber was described as a white man in his 70s with white hair, a gray mustache and glasses, 6 feet 6 inches tall, wearing a white beret, argyle sweater and brown sports jacket, a dispatcher said.

It was the first of two recent local robberies involving an elderly suspect.

The crime isn't unusual but the profile of the suspect is and it has some experts in the senior care industry wondering whether desperate times are leading to desperate measures.

It's not often you see a bank robbery suspect believed to be in his 70s or 80s carrying an oxygen tank with tubes in his nose.

The FBI believes the man robbed the San Diego National Bank in La Jolla Saturday. It's the 73rd robbery so far this year.

Despite his age and seemingly frail state, no one saw where the suspect took off to after he left the bank.

The crime is particularly disturbing to experts who've seen San Diego's elderly community struggling more than ever. Many of them who planned to survive on money they had invested are having to dip into their principal because their portfolios are 25% to 45% down.

Dr. Teresa Shanahan and her staff at Lifeline in Ocean Beach help find solutions and options for seniors facing tough times.

A recent study found of the county's 313,000 adults over 65, nearly 42 percent do not have their basic needs met. That includes housing, transportation, food and health care.

"Are his co-payments, his medical insurance so much that he's needing money?" Shanahan asked. "Are his medications so much that it's thousands of dollars a month?"

Regardless of his age if the suspect is found guilty, he could face up to 20 years behind bars.