DENVER (Reuters) - Police in Colorado are hunting a hooded man who was about to rob a convenience store but stopped after recognizing the clerk and then gave the startled employee a cheery thumbs-up.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said the conscience-stricken suspect walked into a Quick Save in Arvada, a northwestern suburb of Denver, on Tuesday at lunchtime wearing a blue hoodie, jeans and a blue bandana.

"The suspect looked at the clerk and said, '(Expletive), I was going to rob this place but I know you,'" the sheriff's office said on Wednesday in a statement.

The man then asked the store clerk whether he knew him, it said, to which the employee replied that he didn't.

"The suspect then stated, 'Good,' and walked out of the store while giving a 'thumbs up' sign to the clerk."

The gesture was recorded by a store security camera.

Police said the man drove away and shortly afterward a suspect fitting his description was reported to have robbed a 7-Eleven store about a mile and a half away up the same road.

On Thursday, the sheriff's office said the man had also been wearing distinctive red and yellow shoes, and it urged the public to get in touch if they recognized him.

(Reporting by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Bill Trott)