A 9-year-old girl died after her mother allegedly left her in a car in the Texas heat while she went to work, according to authorities.
On Tuesday, July 1, police received a call at 2:06 p.m. local time reporting an unresponsive child in a white Toyota Camry in the 1200 block of Mayo Shell Road in Galena Park.
According to a statement shared on Facebook by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, the young girl was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead.
“I am extremely upset and disappointed that a 9-year-old, beautiful little girl has lost her life by no fault of her own,” said Sheriff Ed Gonzalez at a press conference. “There is never an excuse to leave a child unattended,” he told me.
The 36-year-old mother allegedly abandoned her daughter in her car in the parking lot of the manufacturing plant where she worked. Gonzalez stated that the mother kept the windows partially down and left water in the vehicle. Her standard shift runs from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Authorities said it is unclear whether the little girl was monitored throughout the day or if she exited the car prior to the medical emergency.
The car was backed up in the parking lot, and a sun visor in the windscreen may have obscured passersby’s view of the little girl inside, Gonzalez said. He mentioned that it was around 97 degrees outside during the news conference.
“Any amount of time can be very dangerous and even fatal for a small child,” the sheriff stated about leaving children in hot cars. (The National Safety Council reports that 39 children died of heatstroke in 2024 after being left in hot cars.)
“A child’s temperature increases at a much higher rate than an adult,” he said.
When the woman returned to her vehicle at the end of her shift, her daughter was unresponsive, according to officials. A call for assistance was issued shortly after that.
Police initially detained the mother, but she was later released while they awaited the autopsy results, according to ABC News.
According to the outlet, detectives have continued to interview the mother in order to better understand her reasoning for leaving the child in the vehicle and a timeline of events, but the Harris County District Attorney’s Office will decide whether to charge her in connection with the tragedy. An investigation is ongoing.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office and the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s enquiries for comment.
Gonzalez said it was unclear whether the mother’s decision to leave her daughter in the car was due to a lack of childcare.
“We can be sympathetic to the fact that there is hardship, you know, it is not lost on me that there is people going through tough times,” the sheriff replied. “Maybe she has to make ends meet and keep, you know, food on the table.”
But as he stated, “The point is the risk of death or harm, there is just no reconciling that in my mind.”
