Police: Man Hiding In Back Seat Robs Woman When She Returns From ATM

CALIMESA (CBSLA.com) — A kitchen knife was pressed so deep into Teresa Cowan's neck it left a mark, forcing her to give an armed robber $800, police said.

"It was a pretty big knife and it and he kept going deeper and deeper and deeper demanding me to give him the money," Cowan said.

The young mother parked her car at a store in Calimesa Wednesday and noticed a man dressed in black near a trash can.

Cowan went inside to the ATM and took out her vacation money, walked back to her car with tinted windows and somehow the man in black slipped into her car's backseat, next to her kid's vacant car seat.

"It was the most scariest thing ever because I can only think if my kids were in the car and somebody tried doing that? No way! Not gonna happen," Cowan said.

After the man fled, Cowan called 911 and San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputies came out with blood hounds to search for the man who she says took off with her cash.

"I'm just going to be more cautious. We just need to check out surroundings most definitely," Cowan said.