A Missouri Valley, Iowa, woman faces charges after two children were treated for heat exposure Thursday in Blair.
At about 11:53 Thursday morning, Blair police and fire officials were dispatched to a report of two children left unattended in a car in front of 2876 Angel Share Drive.
A Washington County Sheriff’s sergean arrived and found two small children crying and screaming inside the locked car that was not running. Fearing the children were suffering from heat exposure, the sergeant entered the vehicle and recovered the children who were secured in car seats.
As the sergeant was removing the children from the vehicle, he was approached by the children’s mother, later identified as 37-year-old, Tanya Knudsen of Missouri Valley. Blair Police and Fire Rescue arrived on scene and the two children, who were both displaying signs of heat exposure, were transported to Memorial Community Hospital in Blair.
Personnel from the Blair Fire Rescue used a thermal heat detector after the children were removed and found the temperature inside the vehicle to be more than 120 degrees.
An investigation by the Blair Police Department revealed that Knudsen was delivering online grocery orders and left the children inside the non-running vehicle to make the delivery. Reporting witnesses and video from nearby surveillance cameras confirmed that the children (a 16-month-old and a 3-year-old) were left unattended for 25 minutes.
The children were treated for heat exposure and were released to family members under the supervision of Nebraska HHS Child Protective Services. Knudsen was arrested by Blair Police for Felony Child Abuse and booked at the Washington County Jail.
