Baby left alone in freezing car at Wyandotte CVS sparks investigation

WYANDOTTE. Mich. (FOX 2) - It is a scary situation no baby should ever be in, being left alone in a car with no parents or guardians around. 

A customer who was in a CVS parking lot in Wyandotte noticed the baby alone, strapped to a booster seat in the back seat.

The child was in a locked red sedan alone in freezing temperatures. 

"I parked, got out and looked down, and I looked down and saw the kid and thought it was a doll," said the customer. "He was in a coat, a winter coat, no socks, no shoes."

The customer did not know how long the child was there, but was concerned about the cold temperatures, with him saying the temperature was 26 degrees that day. The witness said the car was off and locked.  

"I ran into the store real fast to make sure, like hey, maybe she wasn’t in there," he said. "Maybe she had an emergency, so I went and got the manager," he said. 

Store employees then called the police, who went in and found the baby's guardian. 

"The officer went into the store, found her and brought her outside and just told her like, what are you doing, that’s not okay," he said. "She had no clue she did anything wrong."

FOX 2 asked Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard about the dangers of leaving a child unattended, whether by accident or if you plan to make a quick trip, saying it's simply not worth the risk.

"It can be considered illegal and child neglect if you’ve left a child in a car unattended where it's too hot, too cold, where they can be kidnapped. It doesn’t make sense," said Bouchard.

According to police, guardians can face a misdemeanor to a felony for leaving a child locked in the car alone.

The Wyandotte incident remains under investigation.