A Nebraska Police Captain Went Fishing With Her Partner, But Her Toddler Was Left Locked in a Car That Got ‘Extremely Hot, Extremely Quick’
"Children just cannot be left inside a vehicle at this time of year."
A Nebraska police captain was placed on leave after allegedly leaving her toddler locked inside a car while she went fishing with her partner. According to New York Post, Capt. Mayde McGuire and her partner, Mary Tobiassen, were allegedly fishing at Lincoln’s Pawnee Lake around 4 p.m. Sunday when bystanders spotted the distressed two-year-old trapped inside the parked vehicle.
By the time police arrived, the child had already been removed from the car, according to Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner. “We just can’t emphasize enough how quickly the interior of a vehicle can get extremely hot. Even on a 78-degree day, which is pretty pleasant for us outdoors,” Wagner told reporters.
“Inside a vehicle, it gets extremely hot, extremely quick, and so children just cannot be left inside a vehicle at this time of year.” The child was reportedly locked in the car for at least 28 minutes before deputies arrived. McGuire registered a blood alcohol content of .108 after submitting to a breathalyzer test, the sheriff said.
Even a Mild Day Outside Can Turn Deadly Inside a Car
McGuire’s warning about a 78-degree day is backed by federal data. According to NHTSA, a vehicle’s interior temperature can climb roughly 20 degrees in just 10 minutes and reach around 50 degrees hotter than the outside air, meaning a 70-degree day can push a car’s interior well past 115 degrees. A child’s body temperature rises three to five times faster than an adult’s, and heatstroke can begin once a child’s core temperature hits about 104 degrees, with death occurring at 107 or above.
NHTSA reported 31 child heatstroke deaths in vehicles in 2025 alone, and more than 1,040 since it began tracking the data in 1998. The bystanders who spotted the child are legally protected for whatever action they took to help. Nebraska’s Good Samaritan hot-car law, signed in 2020, shields anyone who forcibly enters a locked vehicle to rescue an endangered child from civil liability, including the cost of a broken window, as long as they act in good faith.
Tobiassen and McGuire were both charged with misdemeanor child abuse. Under Nebraska Revised Statute 28-707, child abuse becomes a Class I misdemeanor when it’s committed negligently and doesn’t result in serious injury or death, carrying a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. The classification can escalate significantly if prosecutors later determine the conduct was intentional rather than negligent, or if the child had suffered serious injury, up to a Class IB felony if a child dies as a result.
McGuire was also cited and placed on leave from the Lincoln Police Department. The investigation is ongoing, and the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to the outlet’s request for comment.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
Follow The Mary Sue:
