Police in Egg Harbor Township rescued three children locked inside a sweltering SUV outside of a shopping center, and two women were arrested – while they shopped inside Walmart.  

Officers responded to the Walmart shopping center located in Oak Tree Plaza Wednesday around 2:48 p.m. for a report that the young children were locked inside a vehicle crying.

“So, when I arrived on scene, the kids were standing up by the window screaming, knocking on the windows,” says Officer Tom Rizzotte. “I could see them sweating profusely, beads of sweat dropping off their chest. I could see sweat dropping off their heads onto the seat.”

The crying children were seen inside the car by someone walking past. Shoppers walking past the Toyota SUV saw the children banging on the window, as temperatures soared inside the SUV. They called police. Rizzotte arrived with his lockout kit.  

“I would then blow this up, and it would open up a small hole to the door jamb, would then use the wedge,” says Rizzotte. “It wedges through and then I would utilize this tool to maneuver through the door, push it through.”

Police say officers found the children, ages 3, 1, and 5 months, locked inside a vehicle that was not running. All windows were closed. They were locked inside for at least 35 minutes. 

Police were able to rescue the children. It took just seconds to get the children out, they were given ice and taken out of the hot sun by medical crews. 

Security camera footage revealed 24-year-old Cyndie Jourdain, the mother of two of the children, and a 17-year-old who was in charge of the third child. Both are from Galloway Township and were inside the store for around 45 minutes at the time the children were located and removed.

“So, for people shopping in this heat, if you see something, say something -- especially if you see children in the back of a car,” says Rizzotte.

The children were all transported to Atlantic City Medical Center for treatment but expected to be OK. Child Protective Services were also called to attend to the children. 

Both women were arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Both were released pending court.

The temperature outside that day was 86 degrees.