Police have released a photo of a pair they believe robbed a bank in Te Kūiti yesterday.
A man and a woman entered the bank on Rora St and demanded cash about 12.05pm, police said.
Shots were reportedly heard during the incident.
"Both are believed to have been armed, but thankfully nobody was injured," Detective Senior Sergeant Ross Patterson said.
"They were both dressed in black and fled on a black, farm-style motorbike," he added.
The eagle helicopter assisted with the search for the pair, but they haven't been found. Police are following "strong leads".
"Te Kūiti's a fantastic, close-knit community that doesn’t tolerate things like this," Patterson said. "We know that some people may have seen the pair on the motorbike either before or after the robbery and we want them to reach out to police."
A community meeting has been organised today in the wake of the event, and Patterson said police would be attending.
"Aggravated robbery is a horrible crime that inflicts fear and trauma on innocent people and we understand that a lot of people will be concerned," he said, urging anyone with information to call 105.
"Police are working incredibly hard to locate these offenders and get them off our streets.
"We ask anyone with information that may assist us to contact us.
"Even if you think it's insignificant, it could be the piece of the puzzle that allows us to close the net on these offenders."
It comes after an eyewitness told 1News the robbers were dropping money as they fled the bank.
They added that a lady, who didn't realise it had been robbed, picked it up and called out to them they had dropped their money.
"The little egg ran back and snatched it out of her hand," the bystander said.
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