Police arrest mother for leaving baby in hot car outside Oklahoma liquor store

OWASSO, Okla. (FOX 13) - Police in Oklahoma arrested a mother after they said she left her baby in a hot car while she shopped at a liquor store.

Owasso police officers responded to the liquor store's parking lot on Wednesday after a woman said she could hear a distressed child inside of a car.

Body cam footage showed one of the officers trying to open all the vehicle's doors, which were locked.

Two women exited the store, and were immediately put in handcuffs by the officers.

"What the hell were you thinking?" one officer asked the driver of the vehicle.

Both women could be heard protesting that they thought the air conditioning was on in the car at the time.

Officers said the 14-month-old child was only wearing a wet diaper and showed signs of medical distress, according to FOX 23.

Police said the baby was likely left alone in the car for 15 to 20 minutes. Temperatures in the area reached a high of 92 degrees that day, according to the Weather Channel.

The baby was taken to a nearby hospital for a medical check, then released to Oklahoma's Department of Human Services.

The child's mother, 24-year-old Gretchen Markovics, was arrested on charges of child endangerment. She is being held on $25,000 bond.