Toddler dies after Florida parents ‘decided to leave her in car seat’ when she fell asleep on ride home: Two-year-old was found 14 hours later with a temperature of 107 degrees
- The two-year-old Florida girl died after her parents left her in her car seat for more than 14 hours
- The child’s parents left her asleep in the car when they entered their home after work – they didn’t find her until after 3 p.m. the next day
- The Holmes County Sheriff blames the tragedy on drug use, as investigators say they found methamphetamines in the couple’s home
A two-year-old Florida girl who fell asleep in a hot car died after police said her parents left her in the sweltering car for 14 hours.
The girl’s parents, Kathreen Adams, 23, and Christopher McLean, 32, were arrested and charged with child neglect and possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
Additional charges will likely be added later, Holmes County Sheriff John Tate said.
Mugshots of Christopher McLean, 32, and Kathreen Adams, 23 – the parents of the toddler who died after being in a car for 14 hours
Deputies arrived at a home in the Florida Panhandle neighborhood of Prosperity around 3:45 p.m. on May 16 after an inconsolable woman called 911.
Tate said the counselor was unable to get the necessary information from the woman because she was yelling so much.
The deputy sheriff was met at the house by a person carrying the unresponsive child.
The officer immediately began CPR until emergency services arrived. The child was pronounced dead shortly after their arrival.
Initially, Adams told authorities she found her daughter unconscious in the house. However, according to the sheriff, the child’s temperature was 107 degrees, making her story implausible.
During their investigation, authorities learned that the girl had been in the car for about 14 hours. Adams eventually admitted to deputies that she left work around midnight and went to a relative’s house to pick up her two- and four-year-old children.
The couple then drove the children home, the sheriff said.
“The baby slept in the car seat. They decided to leave the child in the car and went in and eventually fell asleep and didn’t wake up until about 3:41 that afternoon or didn’t realize the child was in the car,” he said.
He added that Adams “intentionally, via her own statement, deliberately left the child in the car all night.”
McLean was uncooperative, asserting his right “and wouldn’t give us an explanation or talk to us at the time,” Tate said.
Sheriff John Tate told reporters his message to the community after the tragic incident reads: Don’t use drugs. I sincerely believe that methamphetamine, drugs is the culprit behind this death’
It remains unclear what time the couple actually discovered their daughter in the car and when 911 was subsequently called.
Adams also told police that the four-year-old got out of the car and entered the house.
“We don’t have any evidence whether he was in the car or in the house. We’re still trying to figure that out,” the sheriff said.
The four-year-old has since been placed in custody with the Department of Children and Families.
A resulting search of the couple’s home found methamphetamine, marijuana, CBD gummies and drug paraphernalia, the sheriff’s office told reporters.
Adams confirmed to authorities that she and McLean had smoked marijuana after entering the home.
The sheriff said his message to the community was, “Don’t do drugs. I sincerely believe that methamphetamine, drugs are the culprit behind this death.’
“That’s what happens when you do drugs, you lose the sense of what’s happening in reality and things like this happen. If they weren’t on drugs, we probably wouldn’t be here today,” he continued.