Toddler left in hot car picked up by police

The parent of a toddler will soon be feeling the heat for having left the child alone in an idling vehicle in downtown La Conner Monday, the hottest day of the year to date.

That parent could face child endangerment charges, and the case is being forwarded to Child Protective Services (CPS) for review, according to Sgt. Jeff Willard, who heads the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office La Conner Detachment.

Willard said a concerned person called the sheriff’s office 12:13 p.m. after seeing the child upset and alone for several minutes in an SUV with a window down.

“The caller said a child had been left in a hot car and was screaming in distress,” Willard said. “The caller estimated the child was about two-years-old.”

Sheriff’s Office patrol sergeant Steve Dills, deputy Ruben Ayala and Swinomish Tribal Police officers Christopher Kube and Shannin Wachholz responded to the scene. The child, seemingly more upset at having been left alone than overheated, was safely removed by officers.

“It was very fortunate,” Willard told the Weekly News. “It’s just a reminder that kids and pets don’t belong alone in cars in hot weather. But it was a happy ending. We found the parent, the child was unharmed and officers were able to calm the child down.”

Willard said the parent had intended to briefly step inside a store in Gilkey Square before returning to the vehicle.

“But the parent ended up being in there longer than expected,” Willard said. “Time kind of slipped by.

“Our concern, as law enforcement officers,” he added, “was that with a window down and the vehicle idling, somebody could’ve gotten in and driven off with the child inside.”

Motorists driving west on McLean Road around 12:20 p.m. reported being passed by a sheriff’s office patrol car at a high rate of speed with its lights flashing. They saw the sheriff’s rig turn south on La Conner-Whitney Road.

“A flash went by and he almost blew my doors off,” a La Conner bound motorist reported. “We knew something big must have been happening in town.”

Sheriff’s personnel arrived at about 12:23 p.m., Willard said. He praised the caller for assessing the situation and choosing to notify police.

“Our advice is if you see something, do something,” Willard said. “Let us know what’s going on so we can do something about it.”