WASHINGTON -- A 4-year-old used a cell phone to call 911 after they and six other kids were left inside a hot car while the woman watching them went into a mall.
It happened Friday afternoon at the St. Charles Mall in Maryland.
Emergency responders were able to track the location of the cell phone and found the kids in the car after asking them what color and make it was.
According to the Charles County Sheriff’s Office, the 37-year-old woman who owned the car came out after about 10 minutes and found the fire department with the kids. She told them she had only run inside to use the bathroom.
She also said only two of the kids in the car were hers, and she was babysitting the others.
Deputies went into the mall and showed the woman’s picture to people. They said they confirmed that at one point she was in a shoe store looking around.
Later, in a release, officials said she had been inside for at least 20 minutes.
Child Services was called and eventually contacted the parents of the other kids who came to pick them up. The 4-year-old who called 911 was the oldest of the children in the car, with the youngest being 2-years-old.
All the kids were okay and just needed water.
The woman is facing a preliminary misdemeanor charge of confinement in a motor vehicle but officials said more charges are pending.