Florida law enforcement officials said that three young children died after being found unresponsive inside an unplugged freezer chest on Jan. 13.
Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office deputies and fire personnel were called to the scene and saw family members performing CPR on the children, ABC Action News reported.
Yesterday evening the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office – Communications Center received a 911 call from a residence on…
The children are between the ages of 1, 4, and 6, according to the report.
They were playing in the yard and then climbed into the freezer chest that was brought to the home, according to an investigation. The freezer was not plugged in or brought inside.
Deputies said an adult woman was inside using the restroom when the kids went into the freezer.
When she returned to the yard, she could not find the children. That’s when she woke up another woman who was at home and was slated to work a night shift, and they began to search the property and at a vacant home for the children, ABC3340 reported.
They discovered the children inside the freezer. After that, the women began resuscitation efforts and called 911.
An after-market hasp was installed on the lid of the freezer, Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office investigators told USA Today.
It is believed that when the children went into the freezer, the lid closed and the hasp shut. It then trapped the children inside.
They discovered the children inside the freezer. When they found them, they began resuscitation efforts and called 911. (Google Maps)The Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office is going to forward the case to the Third Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office. No charges have yet been filed, and no foul play is suspected.
The Florida Department of Children and Families was also notified, according to reports.
An investigation is still ongoing.
Officials didn’t release any other details about the case.
Violent Crime Down Across US
The FBI said that both violent crime and property crime decreased in 2017 compared to 2016. Overall violent crime decreased 0.2 percent from 2016 to last year, while property crime decreased 3 percent during that time, the agency said in September, releasing data from the previous year.
“There were more than 1.2 million violent crimes reported to UCR nationwide in 2017. There was a 0.7 percent decrease in murders and a 4 percent decrease in robberies from 2016 to 2017. Aggravated assaults increased 1 percent in 2017.
The FBI began collecting data solely on an updated rape definition last year, and 135,755 rapes were reported to law enforcement in 2017,” the FBI said in its report.
“The report also showed there were more than 7.7 million property crimes last year. Burglaries decreased 7.6 percent and larceny-thefts decreased 2.2 percent. Motor vehicle thefts increased 0.8 percent from 2016 to 2017.”
These figures were compiled from more than 13,000 law enforcement agencies around the United States that submitted their crime data to the FBI.
