POLAND — Authorities said someone brandishing a knife robbed the Big Apple convenience store at Routes 26 and 11 of cash and cigarettes early Tuesday.

A clerk was not harmed.

Androscoggin County Sheriff Eric Samson said the store clerk was robbed by someone wearing a large, blue coat with a hood. The robber’s face appeared to be covered by a towel or bandana up to the eyes.

The person, whose gender hasn’t been identified, is believed to be white. They entered the store shortly after 3 a.m., walked behind the counter, brandished a knife, and demanded cash and cigarettes from the clerk.

The suspect left with several cartons of cigarettes and an unknown amount of cash.

A police dog found tracks that appeared to have led to a vehicle in which the suspect may have fled, Samson said.

Authorities have viewed surveillance video taken inside the store and plan to review it again at their Auburn office where they can enhance the playback quality with zoom features. They also collected surveillance video from outside the store and plan to review it later.

The adjacent McDonald’s restaurant also had cameras active at the time of the robbery.

“There’s a lot of surveillance video at that location,” Samson said.

Two possible witnesses, in addition to the clerk, have been identified; one of them has been interviewed by authorities.

This is the third time the store has been robbed and the first time since it was rebuilt two years ago. Arrests were made in the other two robberies that resulted in successful prosecutions, Samson said.

In one of the two previous robberies, authorities used a tracking dog to eventually capture the robber, he said.

cwilliams@sunjournal.com