March 28, 2024

Toddler found on road in frigid weather

PERRY (AP) — A toddler has been found sitting along a state highway in frigid central Iowa.

Authorities say someone spotted the little boy Sunday afternoon on Iowa Highway 141 west of Perry and took him to Dallas County Hospital in Perry. The National Weather Service says it was about 10 degrees at the time, with a wind chill of minus 8.

The child’s baby sitter, 31-year-old Catalina Ortiz-Ortega, of Guthrie Center, soon arrived at the hospital. She told authorities that she’d been driving in the area earlier in the day, heard a rear door of the vehicle open and close but didn’t realize the child had fallen out.

She’s charged with felony child endangerment. A home phone listing for her couldn’t be found.