CONCORD, N.C. (AP) – A longtime employee and a laid-off tech worker seeking a job were shot and killed Friday morning during an apparent robbery of a soda bottling plant north of Charlotte.

The bodies of Donna Barnhardt, 59, and Darrell Noles, 44, were found inside the office at Sun-drop Bottling Co. Barnhardt had worked at the plant for 18 years, while Noles was an unemployed fiber-optics technician looking for work. His wife was waiting outside in thecar when he was killed.

“She’s in pretty rough shape right now,” said Noles’ wife’s uncle, the Rev. Donnie Tomlin of the Wil-Mar Park Baptist Church in Concord. “We just have to get her through it.”

Concord deputy police chief Guy Smith said a search that included a helicopter and police dogs continued Friday night for the gunman, who was seen running away from the bottling business carrying a box.

“We have 25 to 30 investigators who are following every lead,” Smith said.

“When someone is carrying a box from the scene, you want to talk to them.”

Smith said the gunman walked into the plant’s office around 10 a.m. during what they believe was a robbery. Two employees working at the facility who did not hear the gunfire later found the bodies and called 911, he said. He said detectives don’t know the shooter’s identity or if there was a relationship between the shooter and his victims.

Sun-drop Bottling manufactures soft drinks and spring water at the plant about 25 miles north of Charlotte. The company, founded in 1954, has about 30 employees and produces 1,800 to 5,000 cases of soda a day. Telephone messages left for company president John King at his home were not returned Friday.

Outside the one-story brick bottling plant, workers talked quietly in groups. A few had tears as they hugged their fellow employees. They were reluctant to talk to the media.

Family members said Barnhardt, the mother of three, spent most of her spare time doting on her five grandchildren.

“She loved them,” said Charles Messina, whose brother-in-law is married to Barnhardt’s daughter. “She was supposed to take two of her granddaughters to a dance recital rehearsal after work. What are we going to tell them?”

Family members recalled how much Barnhardt loved the holidays, especially Easter. Every year she would invite family members and friends for an Easter egg hunt in her backyard. She gave away hundreds of dollars in presents at the hunt, including hammocks, barbecue grills and $100 gift certificates.

“She loved to watch the adults scramble for eggs with the kids,” Messina said.

Tomlin said Noles was one of the 150 workers laid off late last year at telecommunications company Windstream Corp. in Concord

“He was a great guy. Just a good family man. This is so tough for everyone,” he said.

AP-ES-06-13-08 2020EDT