Police say 10-month-old Scottie Crowell remained in a vehicle outside a Madisonville medical clinic from about 8 a.m. until 4 p.m.
MADISONVILLE, Ky. — Ten-month-old Scottie Crowell died Aug. 13 after police said her grandmother forgot to take her to daycare and went to work, leaving the infant inside a vehicle in the parking lot of an Owensboro Health medical clinic for nearly eight hours.
Madisonville police are investigating the circumstances surrounding Scottie’s death with assistance from Kentucky Child Protective Services. An autopsy has been completed, but authorities said final findings could take several weeks. Police also obtained a blood sample from the grandmother as part of the investigation. No criminal charge had been publicly announced in the latest reports, and police said the case will be reviewed by a grand jury after detectives complete their work.
Police said the grandmother picked Scottie up on the morning of Aug. 13 and was supposed to take her to daycare before reporting to work at Owensboro Health Multi-Care on South Main Street. Instead, investigators said, she drove to the clinic and arrived at about 8 a.m. without realizing Scottie was still in the vehicle.
The mistake was discovered later in the afternoon when Scottie’s father went to the daycare to pick up his daughter and learned she had never arrived, police said. He contacted his wife, who then called the grandmother. The grandmother ran outside and found Scottie in the vehicle at about 4 p.m. Police said the infant had been there for nearly eight hours.
A 911 call brought Madisonville police, firefighters and medical personnel to the clinic. Maj. Jason McKnight of the Madisonville Police Department said the grandmother had removed Scottie from the vehicle before officers arrived. Emergency crews attempted lifesaving measures, but the baby could not be saved. McKnight said officers tried to help, “but unfortunately it was too late for that.”
McKnight said Child Protective Services personnel worked alongside detectives during interviews and the early investigation. The grandmother also consented to a blood draw, which was sent to a state laboratory. Police said the testing was part of the investigative process and that investigators did not expect it to show impairment. Detectives were still waiting for those laboratory results in the latest publicly available reports.
An autopsy was performed Aug. 14, one day after Scottie died. Police said the final results were not expected for several weeks. Authorities have described the case as involving an infant left for hours in a vehicle during hot conditions, but they have not publicly released a final medical determination of Scottie’s cause and manner of death. That distinction remains important while the autopsy and investigation are pending.
Police also have not alleged that Scottie was deliberately left in the vehicle. Investigators said the grandmother was supposed to make the daycare stop and forgot the child was still with her when she arrived at work. McKnight said detectives were gathering additional information before determining what charges, if any, could be appropriate. He said the completed investigation would ultimately be presented to a grand jury for review.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says more than 1,000 children have died from heatstroke after being left or becoming trapped in vehicles since 1998. The agency says a child’s body temperature rises much faster than an adult’s and that the temperature inside a parked vehicle can climb rapidly. More than half of pediatric vehicle heatstroke deaths tracked by the agency have involved a parent or caregiver forgetting a child in a vehicle. Those national figures do not establish Scottie’s medical cause of death, which remains pending.
The most recent public development came Aug. 18, when Barnett-Strother Funeral Home announced that funeral services for Scottie would be held privately for the family. Police, meanwhile, continued to await laboratory and autopsy findings. No arrest or criminal charge had been publicly announced as of the latest reports reviewed Wednesday, and the grand jury review is expected only after investigators complete the case.
Author note: Last updated August 19, 2026.