Affidavit: Boy left in freezing vehicle for 14 hours, mom told police she had been drinking

BRIGHTON, Colo. -- (KDVR) -- A woman accused of leaving her 2-year-old son in a vehicle as snow fell and temperatures plunged below zero told police she had been drinking the night the boy was abandoned on Friday night, according to a Thornton Police Department affidavit.

The boy was found about 14 hours later in the snow-covered vehicle after temperatures dropped to minus-8 degrees, according to the affidavit.

The boy was taken to a hospital suffering from hypothermia and frostbite. His condition has not been released.

According to the affidavit, surveillance video showed Nicole Carmon, 26 of Westminster, outside a ConocoPhillips gas station about 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 baby sitter's resident, looking for the boy. The baby sitter then called the Westminster Police Department.

Police requested help in locating a 2013 Ford Fusion along Washington Street between 100th and 120th avenues 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 about noon in the vehicle parked at a Target store just to the east of the gas station.

Employees noticed the vehicle at 9 a.m. Saturday, but with 6 inches of snow covering it, no one could see there was a child inside. The boy was found in a car seat, half buckled in the back seat.

Carmon was arrested for felony child abuse and was due in court Monday morning.