A Florida man who was babysitting for his toddler granddaughter was arrested for leaving her in a rental car that he returned to the airport in Daytona Beach.
The Volusia Sheriff’s Office was contacted by a Hertz employee who said that a little girl, under two years old, was left in the hot car for about 45 minutes before being discovered in the car return parking lot.
The police arrived and found the child scared and upset, but she appeared to have not suffered any physical health threat from the episode. A Hertz employee was attending to her.
A statement released by the police said that even though she looked scared and hot and had been crying, the paramedics checked her, and she was said to be okay.
Emotionally, the little girl must have been devastated to find herself trapped in a locked car alone. The car rental staff tried to get in touch with the grandfather with no success.
The car was returned at around 5:13 pm, and shortly after the girl was discovered, her mother got in touch with the rental business and said that her father had just alerted her that he had left the girl in the car. She said she was on her way to pick up her daughter.
The grandfather, David Towner, cooperated with police and said he was sorry. He had been babysitting because the girl’s daycare center was closed for the Columbus Day holiday.
It is unclear why the man left his granddaughter in the car, and what he did after leaving the car at the airport.
Police had a reason to charge the 62-year-old grandfather with child neglect. He appeared before a judge on Tuesday and bond was set at $2,500.
The toddler was reunited with her mom, but the Department of Children and Families was alerted and got involved, to see if the child was in any further danger.
The Volusia County Sheriff, Mike Chitwood, was impressed with the response of the Hertz staff and said he planned on giving a citizen’s reward to each of them.
