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Bank robbery suspect fled scene with 2-year-old in car, police say

McKEESPORT, Pa. — A woman is facing multiple charges after police said she robbed a McKeesport bank Tuesday afternoon and fled the scene with a 2-year-old in her getaway car.

According to police, 25-year-old Sarah Vercauteren first tried to rob the Subway restaurant in the Olympia Shopping Center on Walnut Street.

The store’s manager, Joe Leschner, said the employee who was working couldn’t open the register, and Vercauteren left.

“She asked for the 20s in the register. Our staff is well trained, and when they couldn’t open the register, she got mad and left,” Leschner said.

As police were at the Subway investigating, officers said they got a call that the PNC Bank across the parking lot had just been robbed.

Investigators said Vercauteren passed a note to the teller demanding $20 bills. The note also said she had a gun and threatened, “no sudden movement.”

Authorities said Vercauteren got away with $320 from the bank and was hiding the cash in her underwear when her car was spotted nearby. She confessed to everything, police said.

Vercauteren’s 2-year-old son, who was in the back seat during the entire incident, was not injured. He’s now in the care of relatives.

Vercauteren, who was arrested by state police last month on a theft charge, remains in jail on $20,000 bail.