A 2-year-old girl was found dead in the back seat of a car in Annandale, Va., after her caretaker accidentally left her there, Fairfax County police said.
The police statement indicates that the incident occurred Wednesday when he was dropping off the child's older siblings at two other locations that morning.
The man, described as an acquaintance of the girl's mother, was supposed to drop her three children off at two locations. He took the woman's two older children, ages 10 and 15, to undisclosed locations. He then went back to his home in Fairfax, but didn't realize that the 2-year-old remained in the backseat of the car.
He entered the car again later that day to pick up the mother of the children in Arlington County and, upon reaching his destination, "looked in the backseat area of the car and saw the child," police said.
Upon realizing that she was unresponsive, he contacted 911, which promoted police, rescuers and officials from Arlington and Fairfax County to respond.
Incidents like this are tragically common. For example, in July 2015, another 2-year-old died when she was forgotten in a car in Dallas. In that case, the incident occurred after her family had returned from an outing at a nearby park and went inside their house to take naps. None of the family members noticed the girl was missing until the father went back outside later in the day and noticed her still inside the car seat. Emergency responders soon arrived after the family called 911, however, after taking her to the hospital, they declared she had died from heatstroke.
It's unclear whether the Virginia toddler's death can be attributed to heatstroke, but the medical examiner is working to determine if it can.
Police officials said the county's Child Protective Services division is now involved in the case and the two other children are in the custody of a relative while the investigation is ongoing.
No arrests have made and no charges have been filed so far, but the detectives overseeing the case will consult with the Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney of Fairfax County to determine if the man can be held criminally liable for the girl's death.
Anyone with information is asked to call 866-411-8477.
