Houston, MO. – A man was recently arrested and charged with abuse and neglect of a child and endangering the welfare of a child- first-degree after leaving a 1-year-old child in a car with the engine off.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the Houston Police Department received a phone call from the Department of Family Services Children’s Division, where they stated that on the morning of June 17, 2024, a child had been left inside a vehicle with the engine off. The one-year-old child was left in the vehicle for approximately three hours by 47-year-old Rustin Miller. The child was removed from the car by Miller and transported to Texas County Memorial Hospital and was later flown to a hospital in Saint Louis, Missouri. The officers were told that the child was a foster child from Utah and had been in their custody since April 10, 2024.
Upon medical follow-up with the child, they found that on arrival at TCMH, her core body temperature was 107 degrees, and she had suffered a heat stroke. She had continuous seizures and had been on a ventilator. The officers conducted another medical follow-up on the child on June 24, 2024, and were told that she was having trouble regulating her body temperature. On June 26, 2024, the child was released but continued to have issues with body temperature, her vision, and her motor skills.
The officers also arrested Miller on June 26, 2024, who stated that he did not normally take his daughter to the babysitter. When he was driving to work she fell asleep in the vehicle, causing him to forget that she was there. Miller continued to say he was thankful that the child survived.
Rustin Miller was booked into the Texas County Jail and is being held on a cash-only bond of $2,000.
