- Wynter Parker’s mother found her on the porch in temperatures as low as 20F
- The child’s father is reported to have been working night shifts and fell asleep
- Medics said Wynter suffered from hypothermia – autopsy results are due soon
- No charges have been filed as police investigations into the death continue
A two-year-old girl who died after wandering from her home when her father fell asleep was found by her mother on their apartment porch in freezing temperatures, police say.
Wynter Parker’s mother made a desperate call to Ohio police on Friday afternoon telling them that her child had been found frozen on the porch.
She died after paramedics took her to Akron Children’s Hospital.
Wynter Parker wandered outside without a coat, hat or gloves in freezing cold conditions – she died in hospital after being found by her mother
The toddler was discovered on the porch of the family’s apartment – she died despite her mother’s brave efforts to perform CPR on her
Parents of small children have been warned that Ohio’s current bout of extremely ow temperatures can kill quickly
Tributes to the the toddler have been left near her apartment
The mother is reported to have left the child in her father’s care in order to carry out some errands with her four-year-old son. But the father had been working night shifts and dropped off to sleep.
A 911 recording of the anguished mother screaming ‘she’s frozen!’ has been released, with the operator calmly telling her to perform CPR on the child.
Temperatures in the city – close to the Canadian border – on Friday dipped to as low as 20F. The little girl was reported not to be wearing a hat, coat or gloves.
No charges have been filed, as investigations into the death continue. Results from an autopsy are expected soon – the medical examiner’s office however said she suffered from severe hypothermia.
A memorial of stuffed animals has been left on the porch of the family’s apartment building.
Akron Children’s Hospital meanwhile has provided some winter-safety tips for parents with young children, Akron Beacon Journal reported.
It has warned that frostbite can start on exposed skin in 30 minutes when the temperature is zero degrees, with hypothermia setting in simultaneously.
‘That is one of the things parents don’t quite realize,’ a spokeswoman said. ‘That happens much quicker for our little ones.’
Parents should make sure children wear layers of clothes when they go outside in the cold and monitor how long they are out, she said.
States in the northern Plains and Great Lakes have been subjected to a recent spell of extremely cold weather