Lethbridge police have laid charges against two women after their two young children were found alone in a vehicle left outside in the cold for over an hour.
According to investigators, a three-year-old girl and four-year-old boy were found inside a locked vehicle parked in the 200 block of 5 Street South at around 11:30 p.m. on Thursday.
The temperature was -18 C at the time, and the vehicle was not running.
Because the vehicle was locked, officers had to break a window to get the children out.
Police said one of the kids was found sitting in a car seat, crying, shivering and in “obvious distress.” The second child was under a pile of clothes.
Both children were rushed to hospital. Police said Friday that neither sustained any “lasting injuries.”
According to the Lethbridge Police Service, the children’s mothers were later located inside a nearby bar.
Surveillance footage at the scene showed the pair had been inside the bar for over an hour.
The women, who can’t be named in order to protect the identity of the children, are charged with one count each of failing to provide the necessaries of life. They are currently remanded in custody awaiting a hearing.
The children, meanwhile, are in the care of a relative.
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