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Three children dead after being 'trapped in freezer' in Florida

The childre are believed to have climbed into the freezer and became trapped inside

Sarah Harvard
New York
Monday 14 January 2019 16:16 EST
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Three children dead after being 'trapped in freezer' in Florida

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The bodies of three children – aged 1, 4 and 6 —have been discovered in a chest freezer left outside a home in Suwanee County, Florida.

Deputies from the Suwannee Country Sheriff's Office said they responded to a 911 call at a residence where three children were found not breathing.

Adults were reportedly performing CPR on the children when the deputies arrived at the scene.

The children were immediately transported to the hospital for resuscitation efforts, but were unsuccessful, according to CBS affiliate KEYE.

According to deputies, the adults were at home when the children were playing outside wen they climbed inside the chest freezer.

The freezer, which had recently been brought to the property, was not plugged in at the time of the incident on Sunday night.

Witnesses said the children climbed into the freezer when an adult female at the residence went inside the house to the use the bathroom, according to the sheriff's office.

The woman then went back outside, but could not find the children. She then woke up another woman, who was resting before her night shift, and they began to search the property. S

Soon after, they opened the freezer and found the three children inside not breathing.

An after-market hasp used to secure a padlock has been installed on the freezer, deputies said. Authorities believe the lid closed after the children climbed in, and then the hasp shut and trapped the children in the freezer.

The freezer did not have a padlock.

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The Florida Department of Children and Families have been notified. The agency said foul play is not suspected at the time.

The case has been forwarded to the Third Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office for review.

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