A California A woman who was forced to rob the bank she ran after the kidnappers strapped dynamite to her and her daughter has told how she eventually helped police crack the case despite the suspect trying to frame her for planning the heist .

It was 2000 when Michelle Rene, a bank manager in San Diego, was forced to steal $360,000 from a Bank of America branch in Vista.

The three burglars had scouted the unit months before the robbery and knew where Renee, her seven-year-old daughter Bree, and her roommate lived.

One night in November, the three were held hostage for 14 hours and bound with duct tape after masked attackers broke into their home before dynamiting them all.

“Are you going to kill my mom? Are you going to kill me?” little Bria asked the kidnappers.

Renee Bree’s seven-year-old daughter is seen with a fake stick of dynamite tied to her

Investigators recovered fake dynamite sticks and tied them to the victim’s back

“Not if your mom does everything we tell her,” one of the men replied.

They warned Renee that they would detonate the explosives if she did not comply and retrieve the money from the bank vault for them.

Renee said 48 hours of CBS that the kidnappers managed to exert psychological control over her, saying, “we know everything about you.”

They clearly explained to her why they had chosen her and how they had been following Renee for several months.

“You will rob our bank or you will die, your daughter will go first,” they threatened.

They told Renee that if she made one wrong move, they could detonate the dynamite within a 10 mile radius.

As soon as the bank opened at 9 a.m., Renee went in as usual, like she was going to work, and then left with a duffel bag full of cash.

During police questioning, Chris Butler denied any involvement in the bank robbery

During the hostage situation, Rene recognized the ringleader’s eyes. He was at the bank hours before the break-in, pretending to be a customer and even left his real business card

Another participant in the theft is Christopher Huggins (left). Investigators found $93,000, part of his share of the stolen money. Robert Ortiz on the right was the masked man who put the gun to Bria’s head. He was arrested in February 2001 in Wisconsin

The gunmen tied up Renee and Bree with duct tape.

Renee left the bank with $360,000 and handed it over to the ringleader who was waiting in her Jeep

On the night of November 21, 2000, Renee and Bree were at home on the couch when three masked gunmen dressed in all black burst into the house through the back door. They pointed the weapon at the heads of Renee and the 7-year-old and knocked them to the floor

After the robbery, Renee ran home to find her daughter hiding in a closet.

“I didn’t know if Bree would be there,” Renee recalls thinking. “I don’t know if she’ll be alive when I get there.”

A rival police officer determined that the explosive device still strapped to Bria’s back was a fake, consisting of two wooden broom handles that had been cut, painted and glued together to look like dynamite.

Rene then set out to help the police. She told investigators how she recognized one of the kidnappers by sight after he pretended to be a customer while closing the bank earlier.

“My brain was like, ‘Oh my God, don’t let him know that you know,'” Renee said.

In a schoolboy mistake, Butler left his real business card with his name and phone number at the bank. This ended up being a key piece of evidence in the case.

The men tied Renee, her daughter and her roommate with what they said was dynamite

Michelle René drove her Jeep to the shore with the ringleader in her back seat. He held the gun to her side as she drove and told her, “Do whatever you would normally do.”

That’s how much money Renee left the bank with and handed over to the robbers

The bomb squad determined that the dynamite used in the threats was fake. They appeared to be nothing more than brooms painted red, tied with wire and tape

Investigators had Renee return to the house and walk through the events of the night of the break-in and the bank robbery the next morning, even though she never returned to live there.

One of the robbers, Lisa Ramirez, is pictured during an interview with investigators

The suspect, Christopher Butler, had a history of bank robberies and was under surveillance.

Ten days later, he was arrested during a traffic stop with his fiancée, Lisa Ramirez, who police believe also helped plan the robbery with him.

Investigators found physical evidence linking them to the crime, including a BB gun, ski masks with eye holes cut out, Renee’s credit cards and money straps from the cash taken from the bank.

At Butler’s home, investigators also found “all the ingredients to make a fake bomb,” along with colored paint used for fake dynamite sticks.

Christopher Butler and Lisa Ramirez were arrested during a traffic stop in December 2000. In the glove compartment, police found evidence including Renee’s credit cards, money straps from the bank and a BB gun that was similar to the one used in the robbery.

Twenty years later, in 2020, Butler finally recanted his testimony and admitted at a parole hearing that Renee in the photo had absolutely nothing to do with the kidnapping

Michelle Renée is pictured with her daughter Bree in 2000

During the trial, Butler and Ramirez argued that Renee was involved in the burglary and subsequent kidnapping.

Butler even claimed that Renee set up the entire robbery and he claimed that the two of them had previously had an affair – all of which are complete lies.

This led to lawyers relentlessly attacking her credibility as witnesses.

“They tried to paint me as an irresponsible person,” Renee said CBS News. “A selfish, horrible mother… who… would do anything for money,” she explained.

Twenty years later, in 2020, Butler finally recanted his testimony during a parole hearing and admitted that Renee had absolutely nothing to do with the kidnapping.

“There was never, ever a chance…that I…would be involved in anything like that,” Renee said. “Amazing…I could breathe…I could exhale finally after all these years.”

For Renee, the cloud of suspicion that had hung over her for decades was finally lifted.

For Renee, the cloud of suspicion that has hung over her for decades is finally finally lifted