A scorpion is placed on a plate ahead of a cooking display by America?s master chef of bug cooking and author of the Eat-a-Bug Cookbook, David G. Gordon, at Ripley's Believe It or Not in Hollywood, California on May 24, 2013, where 'The Bug Chef' cooked up a sampling of crunchy critters while bringing awareness to the protein-rich benefits of bugs. AFP PHOTO/Federic J. BROWN (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images) A scorpion is placed on a plate ahead of a cooking display by America?s master chef of bug cooking and author of the Eat-a-Bug Cookbook, David G. Gordon, at Ripley's Believe It or Not in Hollywood, California on May 24, 2013, where 'The Bug Chef' cooked up a sampling of crunchy critters while bringing awareness to the protein-rich benefits of bugs. AFP PHOTO/Federic J. BROWN (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)

HAYWARD (CBS SF) — A woman trying on a dress in a Hayward JC Penney store found an unwelcome companion in the dressing room when a scorpion fell out of the garment onto the floor at her feet.

Sandra Hernandez of Hayward was in the fitting room of the Southland Mall Sunday when she pulled the dress up over her head, flinging the scorpion into the air, landing next to her.

“When I pulled the skirt down I gave it a shake, and when I gave it a shake the scorpion kind of – what I thought was string – opened up and went down to the floor,” Hernandez told KPIX 5. “I was shocked I looked down, I said oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.”

Read More From CBS SF:

The brown-yellow scorpion was about three inches long according to Hernandez. She was able to corral the creature and called a store employee over to help. A store manager tried to capture the scorpion in a bag, but it was able to slip away into a crevice. Workers searched for the scorpion, but were unable to find it.

Hernandez, who is a former JC Penney employee called the corporate office to report the incident, and she says the company appeared to be trying to track down from where the garment originated.

“It was scary,” Hernandez said she carried the dress around for about 30-minutes before entering the fitting room.

[display-posts category=”trending” wrapper=”ul” posts_per_page=”6″]