A 5-year-old child and their dog had to be rescued from a vehicle in Clare County after the child’s mother and her boyfriend left them there for about 15 minutes unattended.
The situation happened when Deputies responded to the Family Fare parking lot on July 23rd at about 3:55pm where they found the child and the dog inside of the pickup truck which had its windows cracked less than 6 inches.
The outside temperature was 82 degrees and despite the vehicles windows being cracked the child was visibly sweating and the dog was heavily panting. Officers removed the child and dog from the vehicle and placed them in an air-conditioned vehicle.
The sheriff’s office says the child’s mother, 31-year-old Natasha Garcia, and her boyfriend, 35-year-old Nathan Crandell came out of the grocery store about 18 minutes after police arrived.
Police arrested the couple and they both were arraigned Thursday in Clare County District Court on the following charges:
- Fourth-degree child abuse.
- Leaving a child unattended in a vehicle.
- Animal cruelty.