A little girl is safe and sound after employees at a Daytona Beach rental car lot found her alone in one of their cars.
According to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, the child, who is just shy of 2 years old, was hot and scared but otherwise okay.
Hertz employees said she had been in the car at the airport lot for about 45 minutes.
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They called the police who then unsuccessfully tried to contact the person who returned the car.
Not long after that, deputies say the child’s mother called.
She said her father had been babysitting the little girl and had left the child in the car.
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Airport security video footage showed the 62-year-old grandfather returning the car.
Deputies said he was remorseful and cooperative.
He was arrested and charged with child neglect.
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A social media post by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said the car was in an unshaded parking lot and that it was about 80 degrees when the incident happened on Monday.
The child was returned to her mother and the Department of Children and Families was notified.
Sheriff Mike Chitwood plans to award the Hertz employees who saved the child.
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