Girl, 9, Dies After Mom Leaves Her in Car and Goes to Work for 8 Hours

A 9-year-old girl is dead after her mother allegedly left her in a car in the Texas heat and went to work, authorities said.

On Tuesday, July 1, police received a call at 2:06 p.m. local time of an unresponsive child in a white Toyota Camry at the 1200 block of Mayo Shell Road in Galena Park. The young girl was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement shared on Facebook. 

“I’m 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’s never an excuse to leave a child unattended,” he said.

The 36-year-old mother allegedly left her daughter in the car in the parking lot of the manufacturing plant where she works. The mom kept the windows partially down and left water in the vehicle, Gonzalez said. Her standard shift is from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Authorities said it’s unclear if the little girl was checked on throughout the day or if she exited the car before the medical crisis. The car was backed up in the parking lot and a sun visor in the car’s windshield may have prevented passersby from seeing the little girl inside, Gonzalez said. He noted that, at the time of the news conference, it was around 97 degrees outside. 

“Any amount of time can be very dangerous and even fatal for a small child,” the sheriff said of the dangers of leaving children in hot cars. (In 2024, 39 children died of heatstroke when they were left in hot cars, according to the National Safety Council.) 

“A child’s temperature increases at a much higher rate than an adult,” he continued.

When the woman returned to her vehicle at the end of her shift, she found her daughter unresponsive, officials said. The call for help was placed shortly thereafter. 

The mother was originally detained by police, but was later released as they await the autopsy results, ABC News reported.

Detectives have continued to interview the mother 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 determine any charges related to the tragic incident, according to the outlet. An investigation is ongoing.

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The Harris County District Attorney’s Office and the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.

Gonzalez said it wasn’t clear if a lack of childcare prompted the mother to leave her daughter in the car.

“We can be sympathetic to the fact that there’s hardship, you know, it’s not lost on me that there’s people going through tough times,” the sheriff said. “Maybe she has to make ends meet and keep, you know, food on the table.”

But, he added, “The point is the risk of death or harm, there’s just no reconciling that in my mind.”