EPPING, N.H. -- A passing police officer is being credited with foiling the attempted theft of a gas station's bank machine Wednesday night.

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Officer Sees Robbery In Progress

Police said the officer saw two men breaking into an Epping Shell station shortly after midnight.

"They smashed the front door, went inside and attempted to drag the entire ATM machine outside with them," Sgt. Sean Gallagher said.

The two men then led police on a high-speed, headlights-off chase down Route 125, police said. The two escaped near the Massachusetts state line but left the smashed ATM behind.

"They unbolted [the machine], pulled it across over here and smashed the door," gas station worker Holly Sabickas said. "They tried to use the rug to pull it out, and it was holding them up. So they booked it when they heard the police come."

Detectives are looking into any connection between the robbery attempt and a series of attempted ATM thefts in Manchester and Concord. In those cases, two white men tried to beat the money out of the machines or take the machines themselves.

Police said they got a good look at the pair's dark minivan after the Epping robbery. One of the men may also have cut himself on the door's broken glass, leaving what appeared to be bloody fingerprints on the ATM.