Deputies search for man who broke into Pixley home while woman was inside

PIXLEY, Calif. (KFSN) -- "I was scared for my life. I thought I might die."

18-year-old Jackie's hands are still trembling as she recounts the moment she realized she wasn't home alone.

"He was like banging it or kicking it. I got scared, I panicked,"

The Pixley teenager was sleeping Wednesday morning the sound of someone breaking down the front door jolted her awake. She ran into her bedroom closet with a knife clutched to her chest and started texting her parents for help.

"They didn't answer me because they were at work. So then I started panicking and I feel like I couldn't call because he was walking back and forth through the room."

Jackie says she eventually built up the courage to call 911, but her voice was so shaky the dispatcher had trouble understanding her. After ten fearful minutes - the intruder finally left, right as deputies were pulling onto her street.

The suspect's description seemed oddly familiar to Jackie's parents.

"My mom told me he was probably stalking the house for two days, checking to see if we were home, when was the right time to come in."

Deputies spent Wednesday afternoon searching multiple homes in the neighborhood with a canine and a drone -- but have not found the burglar so far.

"It just made me mad. We work hard for that and he just took that, like it was nothing."

Besides jewelry and gaming equipment, the suspect stole the family's savings.

Jackie says more than fear, she and her family feel anger.