The police helicopter joined the search for an armed bandit after a hold-up at a Hawks Nest newsagency this morning.
Refuelling in Newcastle, Polair helped co-ordinate a search that led to Karuah, where police searched a property.
At around 6am, an employee at the newsagency was confronted by a man armed with a handgun, who escaped with cash and lottery tickets.
He remains on the run.
Meanwhile, police are also searching for a man who threatened staff with a blood-filled syringe during a robbery at a pharmacy in Hamilton South.
