Man arrested after nearly killing 1-year-old child by leaving her in a hot vehicle for 3 hours

Houston, MO. – A man was recently arrested and charged with child abuse, neglect and endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree after leaving a 1-year-old child in a car with the engine turned off.

According to a probable cause affidavit, the Houston Police Department received a call from the Department of Family Services’ Children’s Division stating that a child had been left in a vehicle with the engine off on the morning of June 17, 2024. Rustin Miller, 47, left his 1-year-old child in the vehicle for about three hours. The child was removed from the car by Miller and transported to Texas County Memorial Hospital, then flown to a hospital in Saint Louis, Missouri. Officers were told the child was from a Utah foster home and had been in their care since April 10, 2024.

During a medical evaluation of the child, it was determined that upon arrival at TCMH, the child had a body temperature of 107 degrees and had suffered from heat stroke. He was having ongoing seizures and was on a ventilator. Officers conducted another medical evaluation of the child on June 24, 2024, and were informed that the child was having trouble regulating his body temperature. On June 26, 2024, the child was discharged, but continued to have issues with body temperature, vision, and motor skills.

On June 26, 2024, officers also arrested Miller, who said he didn’t usually take his daughter to a sitter. When he was driving to work, she fell asleep in the car, causing him to forget she was there. Miller continued, saying he was grateful the child survived.

Rustin Miller was booked into the Texas County Jail and is being held on a $2,000 cash-only bond.