Trent Steinhart

A Sigourney man faces a felony charge after allegedly leaving his infant daughter in a vehicle unattended. Thirty-three-year-old Trent Steinhart was arrested by the Pella Police Department and charged with neglect of a dependent person, a class C felony.

According to Pella Police, their dispatch office received a call at 6:45 p.m. Saturday reporting a child was locked in a vehicle in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Officers on scene reported the five-month-old child was screaming and crying loudly upon arrival. The heat index at the time was 92 degrees. The vehicle was found by authorities locked with all windows sealed and the engine off with no responsible person present, so police used specialized tools to open the vehicle. Shortly after the child was removed from the vehicle, Steinhart came out from the store and told officers he forgot the child was in the car.

Pella Ambulance responded to the call, and emergency personnel cleared the child medically. The Iowa Department of Human Services released the infant to her mother.

Steinhart is a high school agriculture teacher at the Tri-County School District in Keokuk County.

The Pella Police Department reminds everyone to never leave a child unattended in a vehicle, especially in hot weather.