Five-year-old carries baby in -35C cold after being ‘deserted’, police say

Woman has been arrested in connection with ordeal

Child carried the baby half a mile to the nearest town (Getty)

A 5-year-old, wearing just socks and light clothing, carried an 18-month-old through sub-zero temperatures in the Yukon Flats of Alaska after the power went out at the home where they had been left alone, according to the authorities.

The power failure scared the older child, who then carried the baby to a home about half a mile away in Venetie, Alaska, on Tuesday, the Alaska State Department of Public Safety said in a statement on Friday.

At the time, the temperature was about -35C, officials said, and both children suffered unspecified injuries from the cold. It was not immediately clear how the younger child had been dressed.

The children are expected to make a full recovery, Ken Marsh, a department spokesman, said Sunday.

To reach the remote community, which has a population of 166 and is nearly 150 miles north of Fairbanks in interior Alaska, troopers had to charter a plane, Mr Marsh said.

“It took 12 to 16 hours for them to actually get there,” he said. “Fortunately, we were confident that the children were in good hands because a neighbour had taken them in and we had spoken with the neighbour.”

An investigation led to the arrest of Julie Peter, 37, who was charged with endangering the welfare of a minor, officials said.

Efforts to reach Ms Peter were unsuccessful.

The investigation revealed she had “deserted” the children in her home with no adult supervision, officials said. It was not clear whether Ms Peter was related to the children or if the children were related to each other.

Officials did not release the details of those relationships because the victims were minors, Mr Marsh said.

The New York Times