Marion marathon robbed again

MARION — The Marion Marathon gas station at 885 E. Center St. was the site of an attempted robbery on Tuesday morning, officials reported.

Tuesday's attempt follows two previous robberies at the gas station and convenience store within the last month, according to Marion City Police Lt. Mark Beaschler.

Officials said a thin white male, about 6 feet tall, entered the store at 10:25 a.m. wearing an olive green hooded sweatshirt, black baggy pants and a black mask obscuring his face.

The man indicated he was carrying a handgun in his pocket, police reported, adding he demanded cash from a clerk before fleeing the store, crossing Center Street on foot and running through a northeast residential neighborhood.

Police searched several blocks with the help of a K-9 police dog but came up empty-handed.

A man at the scene who identified himself as the store's owner said he's certain the thief was the same man who robbed the store of cash Sept. 13 and again Sept. 19. He said the man would loiter about outside the store and wait until there were no customers present before entering the store and demanding cash, indicating he had a firearm in his pocket.

Beaschler said Tuesday's would-be robber used the same technique as the previous robberies, although the latest attempt was in broad daylight.

Beaschler is asking anyone who may have seen the suspect running northbound toward the CSX tracks north of Center Street on Tuesday morning to contact the Marion City Police at 740-387-2525 or 740-375-8477.