Day care tells dad his baby isn’t there, then he’s found dead in his car, Florida cops say

When a dad went to pick up his 1-year-old from day care, he learned his child had never made it inside, Florida authorities said.

Then the baby was found dead in the back of the dad’s hot car, according to the St. Petersburg Police Department.

Temperatures in St. Petersburg hit a record high Nov. 6, reaching 88 degrees and breaking the previous record set in 1961, according to the National Weather Service.

The dad took his child to an appointment the morning of Nov. 6 and was supposed to drop him off at day care afterwards, St. Petersburg police told McClatchy News.

But he never did, police said.

At about 5 p.m., the father went to a St. Pete preschool and day care center to pick up his son, police said in a news release provided to McClatchy News.

But staff told him his child hadn’t attended day care that day, according to police.

Not long after, the boy was found in the dad’s car, and he was pronounced dead. He had been in the car all day, police said.

The investigation is ongoing to determine if charges will be filed.

St. Pete is part of the Tampa Bay area.

Hot car deaths

More than 1,000 children have died in hot cars since 1998, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“About 40 children a year die from heatstroke, either because they were left or became trapped in a car,” officials said. “That’s about one child every 10 days killed in a hot car.”

Hot car deaths are most common in the summer, but they can happen at any time, according to the administration. The first “vehicular heatstroke” of the year typically happens in March.

“Leaving a window open is not enough — temperatures inside the car can rise almost 20 degrees Fahrenheit within the first 10 minutes, even with a window cracked open,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

If you see a child alone in a vehicle, officials said you should make sure the child is responsive and if not, immediately call 911.

This story was originally published November 7, 2024 at 3:06 PM with the headline "Day care tells dad his baby isn’t there, then he’s found dead in his car, Florida cops say."