Mom accused of leaving 2-year-old son alone in vehicle in bitter cold for hours told police she'd been drinking



THORNTON, Colorado -- Police say a two-year-old boy was left in a vehicle alone in the bitter cold for hours -- and according to KDVR, his mother told police she'd been drinking the night he was abandoned.

The boy was found on Saturday, December 17th.

An affidavit from the Thornton Police Department shows the boy was found 15 hours after he was abandoned. Temperatures had dropped to -8 degrees and snow was falling.

Police found the toddler inside the snow-covered vehicle in a parking lot, but investigators are looking for answers from his mother.

"There is a kid in here. He is crying," an officer said upon discovering the boy. "He seems to be in be distress? He is cold. I'll put him in my car right now. Get here as fast as you can."

Police say Nicole Carmon, the boy's mother, told them she was in an accident and left her car overnight.

"She is having problems apparently. She keeps changing her story," police said.

The child suffered frostbite and hypothermia.

According to the affidavit, surveillance video showed 26-year-old Carmon outside a gas station around 9:40 p.m. Friday.

The affidavit said Carmon said “Target” before walking away.

She had the appearance of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and was seen visiting stores to reportedly find a vehicle with a baby inside, according to the affidavit.

Carmon later told police she consumed six shots of vodka on Friday night, then walked to the gas station to get a ride home. The boy was in the vehicle during that duration, according to the affidavit.

The next morning, Carmon went to her babysitter’s residence, looking for the boy. The babysitter then called the Westminster Police Department.

Police requested help in locating a 2013 Ford Fusion in Thornton.

It was believed at the time the vehicle had been involved in a crash and that a child had been left in the car.

After finding the surveillance video, Thornton police officers found the boy around noon Saturday in the vehicle parked at a Target store just to the east of the gas station. The boy was found in a car seat, half buckled in the back seat.

Employees noticed the vehicle at 9:00 a.m. Saturday, but with up to six inches of snow covering it, no one could see there was a child inside.

Carmon was arrested for felony child abuse.