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WEST JORDAN, Utah (AP) - A West Jordan woman is facing child neglect charges after police say she left her baby in a car while shopping Thursday.
Police were called to a Wal-Mart at 7671 S. 3800 West in West Jordan on Thursday and found a 21-month-old baby that had been left alone in a running car in the parking lot, said West Jordan police Sgt. Dan Roberts.
Paige Gottwald, 36, had been shopping for at least 30 minutes when police had her paged, Roberts said. It's possible she would have continued shopping - her baby boy alone in the car - for even longer had she not been interrupted, he said.
The West Jordan woman told police that she didn't believe she did anything wrong because she left the air conditioning on in the car. Though she left the car cooled and locked the door, what she did was still dangerous, Roberts said.
"The child is too young to be able to tend for itself or call for help," Roberts said. "It can prove fatal."
The woman doesn't have any previous criminal history, Utah court records show. (Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) 9/20/2013 12:32:28 PM (GMT -6:00)
