UPDATE: Twin Falls Police investigate death of baby left
in car
TWIN FALLS — Police say they are
investigating the death of a 10-month-old girl left for
hours in a car on a hot day.
Lt. Terry Thueson
with the Twin Falls Police Department confirmed Monday
morning that the infant died Friday. Just before
midnight, Twin Falls Police responded to the 500 block
of Highland Avenue for a call about a baby not
breathing. Officers found the 10-month-old was
unresponsive.
Paramedics took the baby to St.
Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center for treatment;
however, lifesaving measures were unsuccessful.
"Officers learned the baby had been left unattended
inside a parked vehicle for several hours during the
afternoon and evening hours," a police statement said
Monday afternoon.
Police did not release the
names of the baby or the parents. Don Patterson of Twin
Falls told the Times-News on Monday that the girl was
his granddaughter and said she had been left in a car
strapped into her car seat Friday evening. Patterson
said his granddaughter died that night.
No one
has been arrested.
“These types of investigations
can take time and the Twin Falls Police Department is
committed to conducting a thorough and complete
investigation," Thueson said in the statement.
Coroner Gene Turley said his office sent the baby's body
to Boise for an autopsy.
Late Monday, Twin Falls
County Prosecuting Attorney Grant Loebs said he was
still awaiting autopsy results. Depending on the
results, he said, investigators could request additional
tests.
Complete autopsy results could take up to
a month, Thueson said.
“It simply is not safe to
leave an unattended child in a vehicle anytime," Police
Chief Craig Kingsbury said in the statement. "This
becomes especially true during warm temperatures. The
interior temperature of a vehicle increases rapidly and
this can become deadly for children and even pets.
Please do not ever leave children unattended in a car."
The high temperature recorded at the Twin Falls
airport was 81 degrees on Friday, but temperatures
around town reached into the mid-80s, KMVT Chief
Meteorologist Brian Neudorff said.
"Peak high
typically takes place between 5 and 6 o'clock," he said.