SHELBY, N.C. — A Winston-Salem man was arrested for misdemeanor child abuse after leaving his child in a car outside an Aldi supermarket in Shelby Saturday.
The child was inside the car, which was parked outside the Aldi located at 413 Earl Road. Officials said the windows on the vehicle were closed and the ignition was off. It happened at 3:45 p.m.
While Shelby Police Department officers were trying to get the vehicle unlocked, another officer ran inside the store and yelled out for the driver of the red Nissan. No one came forward to help unlock the car, officials said.
Officers were able to get the door open and get the child out. The girl did not appear to be in any distress but was heavily sweating, officials said.
Officers took the child inside the store while they waited for medical help to arrive.
"People don't realize if you turn the motor off and you sit there for two minutes, and it's getting hot already on you and you sweat, why would you want to leave a child in there?" said Sheila Evans, a shopper at Aldi.
While the child was being treated, a postcard was found inside the car that pictured the child and her family. From the postcard, an officer recognized the father from inside the store.
Officials then detained the father, who has been identified as Seth Cuthbertson. Cuthbertson said his wife and other child were sick. He told officers he went to the store to purchase food for them. He said his daughter must have fallen asleep and he had forgotten she was in the backseat.
"How do you forget about your child?" said Candy Anderson, a shopper at Aldi. "I don't care how much else you have going on. I understand life gets very random, but somehow the rest of us manage to handle it."
The afternoon high temperature in Shelby Saturday was 94 degrees.
"There's no excuse," another customer said. "There is no excuse. That's my opinion -- there's no excuse for that."
Cuthbertson was arrested for misdemeanor child abuse. He was given a $2,500 unsecured bond and released.