Cash stolen during a weekend store robbery was recovered Monday in a wooded area near a Cleveland Highway home, deputies said.

Deputies recovered the deposit bag after a resident of a home on the 5000 block of Cleveland Highway called in a suspicious item. Investigators found money and checks reported as stolen late Saturday night from the Dollar General at 5270 Cleveland Highway.

Employees told deputies they were locking the door to the store when three white men wearing masks approached them around 10:45 a.m. and demanded money.

One robber was armed with a handgun, witnesses reported.

A female clerk was struck in the face by one robber, deputies said, before the men took the money, ran to a vehicle down the street and left the scene.

The deposit bag and contents were found in the direction the suspects likely ran, said Col. Jeff Strickland, Sheriff’s Office spokesman.