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‘Hope’ jar for hungry kids stolen from Riverhead 7 Eleven

A donation jar for hungry children was stolen from a Riverhead convenience store last week, police said.

An unknown man swiped the clear plastic jar — which was labeled “Hope” and contained about $200 in bills and coins ­— from a 7 Eleven store on Route 58 about 5:45 p.m. last Wednesday, an employee at the store reported to police.

The suspect, described as a middle-aged, heavy-set white man with a mustache and salt and pepper hair, came into the store asking for directions, police said.

An employee at the store, which is at a gas station just east of Riverhead Raceway, said the man began reading a paper and when the employee turned to help another customer, the man left the store.

A second employee who was outside the store at the time told police he saw the suspect leave the store “with jar in hand” and get into a 2004 blue Ford Taurus driven by a white man with blonde hair in his late 30s.

The two suspects fled the scene in the car, headed west on Route 58, police said.

Police searched the area for the car, but were unable to locate it, according to a police report. An employee at the store told police she would keep a copy of the surveillance video in case the store’s managers decide to press charges at a later date.