Toddler's Body Found on Front Porch after Freezing to Death
A child in peril has to be one of the worst things parents could possibly face. But can you imagine the horror of trying to save one of your offspring after it’s already too late?
That was the situation faced by an unnamed Akron, Ohio, mother on Feb. 2.
According to local authorities, the woman called 911 after finding her 2-year-old daughter on her front porch at Willow Run Apartments in below-freezing weather and not breathing.
Audio of the call recorded the operator attempting to instruct the woman on how to perform CPR and saying, “You’re going to carefully tilt the head back. You’re going to pinch her nose closed and completely cover her mouth with your mouth and then blow two regular breaths into the lungs.”
“This does not work,” the woman replied, obviously in tears. “Honey, keep going,” the operator said.
Sadly, the resuscitation attempt didn’t prove successful. The child was taken to Akron Children’s Hospital and pronounced dead.
The event has shaken nearby neighbors and caused them to question the circumstances around the event.
“It was freezing and that was my biggest worry when the cops came, when they started asking about the kids,” one Crystal Lucas told KRON.
“They didn’t divulge what was really going on, but when he asked about the kids, obviously something was going on and I was worried.”
Apparently, this wasn’t the first time the woman had let the young child and another sibling roam free either.
“I’ve had to take the baby home because she’ll be outside playing,” Lucas said. “It was a few times that I had to take both of her kids home. …
“I cried because I just don’t understand how a two-year-old could be outside and you not know.” Indeed, it’s an awful story that only seems to get worse the more one looks at the facts.
On the day the girl died, temperatures had sunk as low as 12 degrees.
What’s more, the porches on the units at Willow Run Apartments were little more than simple overhangs offering hardly any shelter.
Still, one should exercise care before rushing to judgment.
The Akron Police Department are actively investigating the case, and though this poor child tragically perished, her death has not and will not be ignored.
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