Nebraska couple spots 2yo screaming alone in a locked van parked at a lake. Then a local police captain is placed on ‘investigative suspension’

A Nebraska couple fishing at Pawnee Lake on Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026, heard a 2-year-old screaming from inside a locked van and called 911 after discovering the child alone. The vehicle belonged to Lincoln Police Capt. Mayde McGuire, who now faces a misdemeanor child abuse citation and an internal investigation after deputies responded to the scene, according to the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office.

Lancaster County sheriff’s deputies arrived at Pawnee Lake at 4:04 p.m. after receiving a report of a distressed child locked inside a vehicle with no adults nearby. According to local news outlet KOLN, Sheriff Terry Wagner said the toddler had remained in the van for at least 28 minutes while McGuire and her partner, 49-year-old Mary Tobiassen, were fishing. The sheriff’s office said the temperature outside reached 78 degrees.

McGuire, 54, removed the child from the van before deputies arrived, according to Wagner. The sheriff’s office said the toddler did not suffer injuries. Deputies later cited McGuire and Tobiassen for misdemeanor child abuse.

Lincoln’s police department took action amid the ongoing investigation.

Assistant Chief Ryan Dale said Monday that McGuire has been placed on “investigative suspension, pending the outcome of an internal investigation.” The department is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The couple who discovered the child were identified as Braydon Nichols and Izabella Glover. They were also fishing at Pawnee Lake when they heard the toddler screaming.

Nichols said the couple approached a black minivan with dark-tinted windows and initially had difficulty seeing inside. The child eventually placed her hands against a window, allowing the couple to see her. Glover told KOLN that the child appeared to be in distress.

Glover told KOLN that the toddler had moved out of her booster seat and crawled toward the front of the van, where she began banging on the window. The couple then called 911.

The sheriff’s office said McGuire also submitted to a preliminary breath test during the investigation. The test showed a blood alcohol concentration of 0.108, according to the agency.

Wagner used the incident to emphasize the danger of leaving children inside vehicles. Hot car incidents also often threaten pets. “We just can’t emphasize enough how quickly the interior of a vehicle can get extremely hot,” Wagner said Monday. He noted that vehicle interiors can become dangerously hot even when outdoor temperatures seem relatively mild.

The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation remains ongoing as deputies review video and witness information. While the conditions were reportedly mild in Nebraska, in a separate incident in Arizona, strangers also intervened when a couple reportedly forced their toddler to walk for three hours in 108-degree heat.