Overview

• Tripura Merriex, 18, was arrested Sunday after officers say she left her toddler locked inside a vehicle in Lake City while temperatures reached 94°F with a heat index of 107°F.
• Regal Cinema employees spotted the distressed child at 5:49 p.m., called 911 and officers removed the flushed, sweating toddler before rushing her to Lake City Medical Center for treatment.
• Merriex is held at Columbia County Jail on a $50,000 bond, charged with child neglect without great bodily harm and awaiting prosecution.
• Lake City Police Chief Gerald Butler issued a statement condemning the incident as unacceptable and urging all parents to prioritize their children’s safety.
• The case follows a series of hot-car incidents in 2025 and has renewed advocacy for in-vehicle alert systems and public-awareness campaigns to prevent child heatstroke.