UNION COUNTY, N.C. -- A man kidnapped a bank teller from her Union County house and used her to rob a bank early Monday, deputies said.

Investigators said the armed robber and the teller walked into the First Citizens Bank on Indian Trail Road in Indian Trail just after it opened at 9 a.m. They said the employee told those at the bank that the robber was holding her children hostage and asked them to comply with his demands.

Investigators said the man was given cash and he left the bank with the woman in her car.

Deputies went to the woman’s Carl Polk Road home 15 miles from the bank in the rural New Salem community and found her and her two children unharmed. The teller told authorities at least one man broke into the home at about 5:45 a.m. and tied up her children, ages 12 and 15. That man told her that his accomplices would stay at the house while he took her to the bank.

Although neither the teller nor her children ever saw the other intruders, the children said they thought they heard the robber talking to another person. A second person also rode with the employee and the robber to the bank.

Deputies said the woman reported the robbers drove off in her car after releasing her at her home. Investigators found the car abandoned less than a mile from the house.

Authorities said no one was injured but the employee and her children were shaken.

Chief Deputy Sheriff Ben Bailey said investigators are still trying to figure out how the robbers knew so much about the victim's job, home and schedule.

“The intricacy and complexity of this crime isn’t lost on investigators,” he said.

The crime is also troubling for neighbors, like Kimberly Polk, whose two children are the same ages as the young victims.

“I’ve got two sons that go to middle and high school with the kids, so it kind of hits pretty close to home,” she said.

Polk said she was inside her house across the street during the kidnapping and robbery, but she had no idea anything was wrong.

“I don’t think anything could hit me as hard as this has hit me right now. My nerves a little off right now. By the grace of God, those kids and her are fine,” Polk said.

Deputies have released a description of one of the robbers. He’s described as a Hispanic man, 5 feet 7 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall, 160 pounds, with a thin build. Investigators said he appeared to be in his early 20s and spoke with a northern accent. He was wearing a black sweater, black pants and a black toboggan.

Deputies said they don’t have a good description of the second man. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is assisting in the investigation. Authorities are looking into whether more people were involved.

Anyone with information is asked to call Union County Crime Stoppers at 704-283-5600 or the Union County Sheriff's Office at 704-283-3789.

RAW VIDEO: Police Investigating 2 Scenes After Bank Teller Kidnapping