Woman Leaves Toddlers in Freezing Car During Trip to Sports Bar

According to the Everett Herald, the woman lied to officers about what she was doing.

Earlier in December Everett police were called to the parking lot of the Everett Mall in the evening hours for a report of two small children sitting in a locked car, without the engine running.

Officials say the children, ages 2 and 6 months, were noticed by a passer by because one of them was screaming.

The chilly December weather we've seen in Eastern Washington also was felt on the west side, the outside temp at the time was 35 degrees!

The man alerted mall security, who called Everett police. A man then approached the vehicle and said it was his sister's car. She came out of the mall, and lied to police that she'd only been inside for about ten minutes. Turns out, the man ratted her out, saying the mother of the two children had been in the Buffalo Wild Wings at the mall, eating and drinking beer for some time.

The woman, who's name was not released, claimed the children were asleep and she didn't want to wake them, so she left them 'for just a few minutes.'  She was booked into the Snohomish County jail on two counts of abandonment of a dependent person, a parole violation, making false statements to officers. And if you also guessed drug possession, you win too!

No word if the children were being cared for by CPS.  Officials say they commonly get reports of children being left unattended in cars during the spring and summer, but this is the first such case they've seen in years happen during the winter.