Minneapolis police: 3 toddlers found in towed minivan were alone for closer to an hour

The three small children found late at night in a minivan that was towed from a downtown Minneapolis parking lot were twin 2-year-old boys and their 1-year-old sister who had been left in the vehicle closer to an hour, much longer than the mother contended, according to details released Wednesday by police.

Police records acquired by the Star Tribune also revealed that the 22-year-old mother gave law enforcement a vague account of where she was and for how long while her children were hiding under blankets in the minivan alone around bar closing time early Sunday in an area with many nightspots.

The mother, who has yet to be charged in what police have classified as an "inactive" case of child neglect or endangerment, returned to the parking lot to find the minivan gone, the police incident report read. She called the towing company, which led to police being alerted, the report continued.

The mother "showed up to the tow yard and appeared to be distraught," the report read. "She cried and wanted to see her children."

Emergency medical personnel examined the children, who did not require further medical attention, the report continued.

The officer consulted with his sergeant, and they "agreed that [the woman] appeared coherent and able to care for the children for the rest of the night," the report added, leading to the reunion. "The children were not in immediate harm or danger."

The officer also spoke with Hennepin County Child Protection Services personnel, "and they agreed with my assessment of the situation," the report read.

The mother told the officer she left her children in the minivan at 1:27 a.m. so she could go up to her mother's apartment to get medicine for them and returned less than 20 minutes later to find her vehicle gone after lot security called for it to be towed because she did not pay to park, the report released Wednesday continued. She was unable to provide police with her mother's address, according to the report.

However, the mother was not around when the tow truck left the parking lot with the minivan at 2:38 a.m., according to the company's records.

After the driver made the 4-mile trip to the tow lot, "the children were found in the back of the van hiding under blankets," the report read.

Taking into account statements from the mother and the towing company's staff, the children were in the minivan alone closer to an hour and "not the less than 20 minutes like [she] had said," the report continued.