A child reportedly was left inside a car outside a Bellingham business in 95-degree temperatures Sunday, resulting in the parent being cited for reckless endangerment and the child being transferred from their care.
The child was checked by aid workers and found to be OK, Lt. Claudia Murphy told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
An employee of the store in the 4400 block of Meridian Street noticed the child left alone in the car June 27 and sought help, then removed the child from the car, Murphy reported.
When officers arrived, they determined the parent left the sleeping 5-year-old in the car and entered the business to use the restroom, according to Murphy.
Temperatures at the time were 95 degrees, Murphy reported, making the temperatures in the car "significantly higher, dangerously high."
It was estimated the child was left alone in the hot car for more than eight minutes before being rescued by the employee, Murphy reported, and it took the parent several minutes to return after the child had been rescued.
Police cited the parent with reckless endangerment (domestic violence) and the child was transferred to the custody of the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families, according to Murphy. She added that names will not be released until reports have been completed.
