Infant dies after being left in a car on a scorching day in South Dakota, police say

Compiled from multiple Associated Press stories The Associated Press

File (Pixabay)

YANKTON, S.D. (AP) — An infant died this week after being left in a car on a scorching day in South Dakota, police said.

The baby was found inside a vehicle outside a church late Wednesday afternoon, the Yankton Police Department said in a news release Thursday. The discovery came as temperatures reached 100 degrees and the heat index broke 110 degrees in the region.

Police said the infant had been in the vehicle “for an extended period of time.” Authorities have not provided the infant’s name and age, or said whether any arrests have been made.

An autopsy has been requested, police said.

“The Yankton Police Department will continue the investigation. As more details become available, we will issue another press release,” the release said.

Yankton has a population of nearly 15,500 and is located in the southeastern corner of South Dakota, along the border with Nebraska.

The National Weather Service issued heat alerts Tuesday for parts of 22 states stretching from the Midwest and Great Plains down to the Gulf Coast. The high temperatures in some states are expected to be as much as 20 degrees above average.

The weather service says it could stick around into Friday. In Nebraska, a 1-year-old girl died after being left in a day care center’s van.

The driver is being charged with felony negligence. In Kansas City, more than 100 residents of a nursing home were evacuated after the air conditioning failed.