A police dog lost the scent of two young men who smashed their way into Faulknors Service Station using a vehicle jack and fled with tobacco and cigars.
The thieves used the tool to break a window at the Masterton Mobil on Queen St, triggering the alarm just after 11pm last Thursday.
Police arrived at the scene and a dog handler and a police dog followed the offenders' scent from the service station to the adjacent sports bowl in Queen Elizabeth Park.
They then tracked the suspects to an area behind the hospital but found no one.
One of the men wore a purple top and grey trackpants and the other had on a white top and dark pants.