Investigation Underway After 3-Year-Old Twins Found Dead In Hot Car
An investigation is underway in Bossier City, Louisiana, after 3-year-old twins Oliver and Aria Orr were found dead inside their parent’s sweltering pickup truck.
According to the Shreveport Times, the twins were found unresponsive Saturday afternoon outside their home on Horseshoe Trail in Bossier City. Alisha Orr, the toddler’s mother, reportedly woke up from a nap to find her two youngest children missing (Alisha and her husband Travis Orr also have an 8-year-old son). She frantically searched the backyard, and contacted her neighbor Rhonda Matthews to help her find them, before she made the horrific discoveries.
When Alisha looked in the family’s pickup truck, she saw her daughter Aria and started screaming for help. Matthews said she started administering CPR immediately, but it was already too late — Aria was gone.
Hot car death of 3-year-old Louisiana twins remains under investigation https://t.co/87zxsvOs8o pic.twitter.com/GrR1RMtFep
— People Magazine (@people) June 21, 2016
“Her jaws had locked. It was obvious she was gone,” she told the news site.
Alisha’s nightmare continued to get worse as she and Rhonda made a second heartbreaking discovery — Oliver was also dead in the back of the hot truck cab. The Bossier City Fire Department soon arrived, and transported the twins to Willis Knighton-Bossier where they were officially pronounced dead.
“It may have been wishful thinking, but when I tried to do CPR on him, I thought I felt a thready pulse,” Matthews said.
Bossier City Public Information Officer Mark Natale said the twin’s official cause of death has not been determined. However, the preliminary autopsy reports indicate that their deaths were related to the scorching heat. Natale also confirmed that an investigation is taking place to determine how the toddlers got in the truck — did Alisha forget them in the hot car, or did they climb in themselves? Child protective services was also contacted to look into the deaths, however the autopsy didn’t show any signs of abuse.
HPD: death of 3 y/o in hot car appears to be tragic accident. No charges at this time. pic.twitter.com/8dm9fE7AV5
— Tracy Clemons (@TracyABC13) June 17, 2016
“We’re limited in some of the information that can be released at this time due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, but detectives are working hard to confirm some things they’ve learned in the investigation and determine final conclusions with this,” Natale told the Shreveport Times.
According to their neighbors, Alisha and Travis, who serves as a deputy for the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office, have lived at the home with their children for the past nine years. Neighbors described them as loving parents, and the children as happy and healthy.
“They were wonderful, happy kids,” Matthews said. “I pray every moment of the day for the family. They are good people, and they were good parents. I can’t imagine what they are going through.”
“You could see this took him to his knees. Everything he did, he did with the kids,” Rhonda added of the twin’s father.
Bossier Sheriff Julian Whittington issued an official statement offering his condolences following the tragic incident.
“We are saddened by the tragic loss suffered by the Orr family, and our hearts are heavy,” Whittington wrote. “This is a very difficult time, but it’s even more so, as they are a part of our Bossier Sheriff’s Office family. Please keep Deputy Travis Orr and his family in your thoughts and prayers.”
[Photo via Shutterstock]
