COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A 71-year-old grandmother faces charges after police say they found two young children in a hot car while she shopped at a Costco.
Channel 2's Matt Johnson learned Cobb County police were quick to arrest her and charge her in this case.
Police said Phyllis Townsend left the 4-year-old boy and 9-year-old girl in the car "parked in direct sunlight with no shade around."
With how hot it's been outside, police said it's too dangerous to leave kids alone for a minute.
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Police said it happened at around 4:15 p.m. at the Costco next to Cumberland Mall.
According to authorities, a concerned citizen flagged down a security guard about the two children in a car. Rhe children told a responding officer they had been in the car for an hour on a day where it "felt like 93 degrees" outside, police said.
Townsend allegedly said it had only been 20 minutes.
"We're certainly grateful for them. Luckily, we didn't have any fatalities in this incident but we are seeing more and more children left in hot cars," said officer Sara O'Hara with the Cobb County Police Department.
An arrest warrant Johnson obtained doesn't mention the temperature inside the car or the condition of the children.
Police charged Townsend with two counts of reckless conduct and she bonded out of jail on Thursday.
"Luckily we didn't have any fatalities in this incident but we are seeing more and more children left in hot cars," O'Hara said.
In June, Channel 2 Action News reported on a mother arrested in East Cobb when police say she left her baby in a hot car to shop at T.J. Maxx.
Police are warning adults that neglect will lead to an arrest.
"Especially since it has been so hot outside and vehicles can heat up in their temperature extremely quickly," O'Hara said.
Johnson had a chance to speak to the woman arrested but she said she has no comment until her court date.