Father arrested after being found in car with 2 children suffering from heat: Police

(HENDERSON, Nev.) — A Nevada man faces child abuse charges after he was found unresponsive in a vehicle with his two children who were suffering from the effects of high heat, police said.

Brian Laugeson, 59, was found in a desert area of Henderson earlier this week with his two children hours after a friend reported them missing, according to the arrest report.

The friend told Henderson police on Monday that Laugeson was supposed to go church with the children the previous morning but never made it, according to the arrest report. The mother of the two children — a boy and girl whose names were redacted from the report — also was unable to get ahold of Laugeson, police said. The parents are separated and arranged for Laugeson to have the children over the weekend, according to the report.

After police were unable to find Laugeson at his apartment, local hospitals or jails, they pinged his cell phone, which led them to a desert area, according to the arrest report. They found his vehicle in a desert area shortly after noon on Monday. The father was unresponsive, while the two children were “going in and out of consciousness,” the arrest report stated.

The children were naked and “visibly suffering from heat-related illness,” and the boy also began to suffer from an apparent seizure, the arrest report said. The temperature at the time was 105 degrees, according to the report.

There was evidence of “possible narcotics use” in Laugeson’s vehicle, which was seized, police said.

All three were transported to area hospitals. The lab results of Laugeson’s blood test, which was obtained through a search warrant, indicated the “ingestion of narcotics,” according to the arrest report.

Henderson police did not have an update on the conditions of Laugeson or the two children as of Wednesday.

Laugeson was arrested on two counts of child abuse/neglect with substantial bodily harm or mental harm. He was initially scheduled to appear for a felony arraignment on Wednesday, though online court records indicate he is still hospitalized and the hearing has been continued until July 31. Court records do not list any attorney information for him.

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