UPDATE: 11/20/2009 - 5:00 PM

by Matt McDonald

Deschutes County Sheriff deputies scour the area with flashlights. A trained dog is used to search for a suspect. It's just minutes after an alleged armed robbery at the Shell gas station in La Pine on Thursday night. An employee says while he was taking out the trash, he was pushed to the ground by a man holding a gun, wearing a black ski mask who demanded the employee's wallet. The suspect is not found.

By Friday morning, news of the robbery spreads to surrounding businesses.

"It makes you pretty concerned, to happen so close. You never think it can happen to you. Just makes you more aware of people walking through the door," says Theresa Tenbusch.

She is the assistant manager at the Best Western hotel in La Pine, the front door, about thirty yards from the alleged robbery. At another gas station in La Pine, an employee says it's the community that makes her feel safe.

"There's so many people that know us around here, that I don't worry about it," said Anna Price, a manager at the 76 gas station in La Pine.

This is the third as yet, unsolved armed robbery in La Pine this year. The La Pine Liquor Store was robbed in May, the Quick Stop Market was robbed in June. Detectives say they collected evidence at the scene that's being evaluated by the crime lab. On Friday, they received numerous tips. The suspect described as a white male, late twenties to early thirties, five foot nine, weighing approximately two hundred pounds. He was last seen wearing a black colored hooded sweatshirt, stocking cap, dark colored pants and a ski mask. He's believed to be armed with a revolver. So far, no arrest.

UPDATE: 11/20/09 4:55 am

MEDIA RELEASE FROM DESCHUTES COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE:

ARMED ROBBERY IN PARKING LOT OF LAPINE SHELL GAS STATION

LOCATION:
Lapine Shell Station, 16515 Reed Road, Lapine

SUSPECT:

White male adult (possibly in his late 20's or early 30's), 5'9" tall, approximately 200 pounds. Last seen wearing a black colored hooded sweatshirt, stocking cap and dark colored pants. He was also wearing a black ski mask pulled over his face and was armed with a revolver type handgun.

On 11/19/09 at approximately 7:34 p.m., deputies from the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office responded to a report of an armed robbery that occurred at the Lapine Shell Station. Sheriff's Office deputies arrived within minutes of the robbery taking place. With the assistance of a Sheriff's Office K9, the Oregon State Police and the Sunriver Police Department, deputies conducted an extensive search of the area for the suspect.

Investigating deputies contacted the victim, Joseph Maxwell, who reported being threatened and robbed by the suspect. Maxwell, a gas station employee, explained that as he emptied garbage into the dumpster at the southwest corner of the parking lot he heard a noise from behind the dumpster enclosure. As he rounded the corner of the dumpster enclosure, he was confronted by the suspect who shoved him down and demanded his wallet while brandishing the pistol. Maxwell gave the suspect his wallet and the suspect fled in a southwesterly direction toward Highway 97. There is no information that the suspect was aided by another person or if he used a vehicle to flee the scene. He is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached.

The Sheriff's Office asks that anyone with information regarding this case contact the Detective Division at (541) 388-6655