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Girl died after hot car rescue, father arrested
The father, identified as 37-year-old Christopher Scholtes, is accused of murder and child abuse. Police say he left his two-year-old daughter unattended in a car for up to three hours.
MARANA, Ariz. - The father of a 2-year-old girl who died after she was found unresponsive inside a hot car near Tucson has been arrested.
The child was found at around 4 p.m. on July 9 at a home near Camino De Oeste and Cortaro Farms Road.
Marana Police say the girl's father, 37-year-old Christopher Scholtes, told officers he arrived home and left his sleeping daughter inside the running vehicle with the air conditioning on because he did not want to wake her.
The girl's mother later arrived home and her daughter was found inside the vehicle, but the engine was not running. The girl's mother performed CRP until firefighters arrived at the scene. The girl was rushed to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Christopher Scholtes
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Investigators say surveillance video obtained from nearby homes showed that the girl had been left inside the vehicle for three hours. The temperature in Marana on July 9 reached 111°F.
On July 12, Scholtes was arrested and booked into jail. He is accused of second-degree murder and child abuse.
"This incident is a stark reminder of the dangers of leaving children unattended in vehicles," police said. "The temperature inside a vehicle can rise rapidly, even on relatively mild days, leading to potentially fatal outcomes within minutes."