An armed man held up Kentucky Fried Chicken in North Carson City on Sunday night.
At about 10:04 p.m., the white-haired gunman entered the KFC at 2523 N. Carson St., brandished a semiautomatic pistol and demanded money.
The clerk complied and the beanie-wearing gunman fled the store, said Carson City Sheriff Kenny Furlong.
An officer responding to the robbery learned of the suspect's description and realized he'd just seen the culprit walking through the Denny's parking lot. When the deputy went to the lot, he found a red beanie, but no bandit.
Information received from witnesses led officers to a home at Dan and Peters streets, where the alleged gunman was questioned and denied any knowledge of the robbery.
A search of the man's home found nothing connecting him to the robbery.
Just after 7:40 a.m. Monday a passerby reported finding a gun near a Dumpster in the 1400 block of East College Parkway.
The weapon was retrieved and its believed it was the same gun brandished in the robbery, Furlong said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Carson City Sheriff's Department's Detective Division at 887-2020, ext. 1405.