Florida rental car employees find toddler inside returned vehicle 

Employees at a Hertz car rental lot at Daytona Beach International Airport found a toddler inside one of the returned vehicles on Monday. 

Volusia Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call from Hertz employees saying that they found a child locked inside a vehicle in the car return lot. 

When authorities arrived at the scene, they found an employee holding the child, who was just under the age of two. 

The toddler was checked by paramedics and was in good health, but was scared and hot from being locked inside the car during 80-degree weather, deputies said in a press release. 

“The child was scared and hot, but thankfully in good health when checked by paramedics,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “Deputies arrived to find the employee carrying the child, whose face was warm and streaked with dried tears, but was breathing normally.”

According to officials, the toddler had been inside the car for about 45 minutes before employees discovered her. 

Airport staff tried to reach out to the driver of the vehicle but were unable to reach anyone. However, the child’s mother called the agency soon after asking about the child, saying that her grandfather had left her in the car. 

David Towner, 62, of Port Orange was babysitting his granddaughter for the day before accidentally leaving her in the rental car. He “was remorseful and cooperative with deputies,” the sheriff’s office said.

Towner was charged with one count of child neglect and transported to Volusia County Branch Jail.