Thanks to quick, decisive action by Nathaniel and Michelle Holt, a husband and wife shopping at the Pea Ridge Walmart Neighborhood Market, a 4-month-old boy is alive after spending nearly an hour in a hot vehicle about 2:30 Sunday, Aug. 11, when temperatures outside were in the mid-90s.
He was in stable condition in Arkansas Children's Northwest, according to Pea Ridge Police.
"If they had not gotten the baby out, this would be an entirely different story," Pea Ridge Police Chief Lynn Hahn said. "Another 10 minutes and the outcome would have been different."
Hahn said the Holts' immediate action saved the child's life. He said the mother and aunt forgot the child and had apparently been in the store for 45 minutes.
The infant's mother, Karlee Spear, 21, Seligman, Mo., and aunt, Ashlee Danley, 26, Seligman, Mo., were arrested. Spear was charged in connection with third-degree endangering the welfare of a minor. Danley was charged in connection with second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor. Incarcerated in the Benton County Jail, they were to appear before a judge Tuesday morning for a bond hearing, but had not as of press deadline.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Spear said she believes she "forgot the infant int he vehicle due to not having her 4-year-old child with her during the trip." Danley told police she believes she didn't remember the infant was that her four children were at their residence in Missouri and "she didn't have children on her mind."
"My husband broke out the window and I pulled the baby boy out," Michelle Holt said, adding that she didn't know who called 911 but several people stood nearby praying for the baby.
Michelle said she, her husband and three children, all from Washburn, Mo., were parked further down in the parking lot from the black Nissan Xterra with Missouri tags. She said they were unloading groceries when they noticed people standing around the black Xterra, with some taking photographs of the license plate. Michelle looked through the tinted windows and saw the baby in the canopied car seat.
She screamed for her husband, Nathaniel Holt, to bring her something to break a window. She said someone standing nearby advised against it for fear the the glass shattering would hurt the child. After throwing a brick through the rear glass, Nathaniel crawled into the vehicle, unlocked the vehicle and got the baby to Michelle.
He was beneath a blanket and in a car seat in the center of the unattended vehicle. She said the baby was red and wet and she immediately removed his clothing.
"I took that (the one-piece undershirt) off him because he had glass on him," Michelle said. "I got everything off him."
Holt took the baby inside the store into the produce section where it was cool and others helped get water to cool him. Pea Ridge emergency medical personnel arrived and took him.
"He wasn't crying. He didn't cry the entire time," Michelle said, adding that she just kept telling him he was strong and to stay awake.
"He kept closing his eyes," she said, adding that several people nearby were praying for him.
"I could have never imagined being in that situation. It was the most terrifying moment," Michelle said, adding that she tried to explain the situation to her children later on their way home.
"The people who saw him are the real heroes," Michelle said.
Pea Ridge Police were called to the Walmart parking lot the day before for a report of two dogs left unattended in a vehicle and while there, saw two more dogs left in a vehicle.
"If you see any indication there there is a child in a vehicle, report it to authorities," Hahn said. "In this hot weather, be aware of how quickly the situation can become deadly."
General News on 08/14/2019