University of Northern Iowa campus police have charged a Grundy Center woman with child endangerment for leaving an infant alone, locked in a hot car. The two-month old child was discovered in the back of a Chevy Tahoe, parked at the UNI soccer fields, just after 8:15 Monday night.
The vehicle was locked and the engine was not running. Officers were not able to locate the parents and broke a window to remove the child, who was taken to a Waterloo hospital. The temperature at the time was 88 degrees. Officers said the baby’s face was red and the child appeared to be trying to cry. The baby is now doing fine.
Officers charged the infant’s mother, 32-year-old Jessica Ann Noltensmeier, with child endangerment on Wednesday. She was released from jail after posting bond. According to court records, she admitted she left the vehicle at about 6:30 p.m. to get something to eat.
She was watching one of her older children play soccer and returned to the vehicle as paramedics arrived at the scene. UNI officials say a judge denied a request from the Iowa Department of Human Services to remove the child from Noltensmeier’s home.