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SANTEE - Authorities are searching for at least two individuals who robbed a Santee cash advance business shortly after noon on Tuesday.
Santee Police Capt. A.R. Staten said that at about 12:18 p.m., a man with a scar on his face entered the Advance America Cash Advance on Bass Drive and threatened a clerk, implying he had a weapon.
“A black male who entered the business, (went) behind the counter and demanded money from the clerk,” Staten said. “He then left the building.”
Investigators say the robber made off with a small amount of cash. He apparently made a getaway with an accomplice who was waiting in a nearby vehicle.
A clerk inside the business was shaken, but uninjured otherwise, Staten said.
“He implied he had a weapon and told the clerk she had two seconds to turn over the money,” Staten said.
The Santee officer said multiple witnesses saw the man run from the business after the robbery. Some of those witnesses told police the man then ran behind a nearby Food Lion and jumped into a silver SUV-type vehicle that appeared to be waiting for him.
“A young man came running alongside the Food Lion here and he had something silver in his hand,” said one witness who wished to remain anonymous. “At the time, I thought it was a cell phone. But later I learned we had a robbery.”
Officers from surrounding agencies, including the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office and the Vance Police Department, arrived in the resort town to assist with the search. The State Law Enforcement Division brought in a K-9 unit to track the individuals.
Santee police were on the scene within two minutes, Staten said.
The robber is described as a 20- to 25-year-old man standing about 6 feet tall and weighing around 180 pounds. He was wearing a light blue and white-striped golf shirt, a blue ball cap and acid-washed jeans. The man has a small, curved scar on the right side of his face.
“The security video system recorded him going into the store and going out,” Staten said.
If anyone has any information on the robber, the driver or the vehicle, they are asked to contact the Santee Police Department at 803-854-2438.
T&D Staff Writer Richard Walker can be reached by e-mail at rwalker@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5516.