From the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On August 19, 2026, at approximately 1:42 a.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a panic alarm at the Shell gas station located in the 1600 block of Central Avenue in McKinleyville.

While deputies were responding to the scene, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Communications Center advised that the convenience store had just been robbed and that the suspect had fled on foot southbound on Central Avenue. Upon arrival, deputies contacted the store employee, who provided a description of the suspect. Additional deputies responded to the area and conducted an extensive search; however, the suspect was not located.

Deputies obtained video surveillance from the business, which showed the suspect brandishing a firearm and taking an undisclosed amount of cash from the cashier before fleeing the store on foot.

The suspect was described as wearing a two-tone black plaid jacket, a light-colored baseball cap with a black hooded sweatshirt, a red bandana covering his face, black sweatpants with a white logo on the right front hip, black multicolored Vans-style shoes, and tan leather gloves.

Anyone with information regarding this robbery or the identity of the suspect is asked to contact the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at 707-445-7251 or call the Sheriff’s Office Tip line at (707) 268-2539.