It was only after hearing a media report about a knifepoint robbery committed last Sunday that a local man called Whitehorse RCMP, believing he may have found the weapon involved.

Last Monday morning, the man discovered a kitchen knife in an alley off Strickland Street, near the Roadhouse. It was only this morning that he learned of the robbery through the media and called the RCMP about his discovery.

Coming into work at around 8:35 a.m. Monday, the man noticed the knife on the ground. He decided to stop and pick it up so his car tire wouldn't run over it.

This morning, he heard a CBC radio report about the robbery at the Roadhouse off-sales store last Sunday. He called the RCMP, who arrived a few hours later to take the knife and his statement.

Meanwhile, the victim of the robbery, Tony Tross, says the knife is the same one that was just three inches from his side as cash from the off-sales till and two bottles of vodka were grabbed by the robber.

'That's it. There's no question that's the one,' he said as he viewed what would normally be a kitchen utensil on the passenger side floor of the car, belonging to the man who found the knife.

'The thing you see is the knife,' said Tross. It's difficult to recall a description of the robber because the weapon is what he was so focused on, he added.

'I'm glad (the person) found it,' he said.

One thing that has made him angry over the situation is the public was not initially informed by the RCMP about the robbery especially with the robber still on the loose.

When Tross hadn't heard or read any media coverage of the armed robbery, the first in his six months working at the Roadhouse, by Wednesday he contacted CBC. He asked why no one had covered the story, only to find out police hadn't released any information about it.

RCMP Cpl. Leanne Lind confirmed this morning that police were called to a robbery involving a knife at the Roadhouse at around 10:46 p.m. Sunday.

The Star asked her why police hadn't notified the media about the armed robber remaining at large.

She said what police release publicly is at RCMP discretion. Though it had been discussed, police used that discretion and opted not to go ahead with formal press notification, she said.

She also pointed out the description of the robber is limited in that he was wearing a balaclava and sunglasses.

Tross, meanwhile, estimates the robbery took only 30 seconds.

'It happened so fast I believe it was a professional job.'

He said he was working behind the counter when a man wearing gloves a balaclava, sunglasses and a dark blue puffy ski jacket 'burst' into the store.

The intruder raced behind the counter, pulling out the large kitchen knife and, in an authoritative voice, demanded Tross open the till.

'There was no question what I was going to do,' said Tross.

Taking all the money in the till, which consisted of only $5 and $10 notes, and two 26-ounce bottles of vodka next to the cash register, the robber quickly left the off-sales outlet.

Tross wouldn't comment on the total amount of cash in the till. He suggested perhaps the vodka was taken because the thief didn't get as much cash as he thought he would.

The knife, he noted, is about a size down from a full butcher knife.

'It's certainly serious,' he said.

What the robber didn't see was the cash dropped in the locked safe, Tross said.

While Tross has been able to recall what the robber was wearing, he said he wasn't able to identify the thief's height, weight or race.

Police officers were quick to arrive on the scene, he said.

Tross added he's amazed at the amount of crime happening downtown, which friends from out of town refer as a 'war zone'.

The incident has left him wondering whether it could in any way be a warning over the Roadhouse's move to crack down on drugs by making the hotel/bar/off-sales establishment on Second Avenue a crack- and meth-free zone.

'Too bad,' Tross said of any potential warning being sent his way.

Heading back to work tonight for the first time since the robbery, Tross said he's not going to let the criminals take over his life.

With a 99.9-per-cent good, friendly customer base, Tross said, he's not nervous about being back on the job .

While he said he thinks there may be organized crime in town, he stressed that's his own speculation.

After the robbery, other businesses downtown were contacted to let them know if someone was spending a lot of $5 and $10 bills, it could be related to last Sunday's robbery.