A tragic incident unfolded in Florida, where a 2-year-old girl lost her life after being left alone in a hot car by her parents.
Authorities have arrested the parents, Kathreen Adams, 23, and Christopher McLean, 32, on charges of child neglect, possession of methamphetamine, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Holmes County Sheriff John Tate announced the arrests during a news conference on Wednesday and mentioned that additional charges are expected.
The incident came to light when a distressed woman made a frantic 911 call from her home in the Prosperity community of the Florida Panhandle at around 3:43 p.m. on Tuesday. Due to the caller’s distraught state, the 911 operator struggled to gather information. Upon arriving at the scene, a deputy was met by an individual carrying an unresponsive 2-year-old child.
The deputy quickly initiated CPR while awaiting the arrival of emergency medical services. Despite their efforts, the child was sadly pronounced dead shortly thereafter. The initial account provided by Adams suggested that she had discovered her daughter unresponsive inside their home. However, the child’s high body temperature of 107 degrees raised suspicions among the authorities.
As the investigation progressed, it was revealed that the child had been left inside the car for approximately 14 hours. Adams eventually confessed to deputies that after finishing work around midnight, she had gone to a relative’s house to pick up her 2-year-old and the child’s 4-year-old sibling. Subsequently, Adams, McLean, and the children returned home together.
According to Sheriff Tate, the baby was asleep in her car seat when they arrived home. Regrettably, the parents decided to leave the child in the car, entering the house and subsequently falling asleep. It wasn’t until around 3:41 p.m. that afternoon that they woke up and realized the child was still in the car.
Based on Adams’ own statement, the sheriff confirmed that she had intentionally left the child in the car throughout the night, leading to this devastating outcome.