Michele Sample
According to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, the two
children from Castle Pines North found dead in their mother’s
vehicle last week died of hyperthermia.
“Hyperthermia is caused by a hot environment,” said Pat Dunn,
chief deputy of the Douglas County Coroner’s office.
Dunn said she could not answer whether the autopsy results were
able to calculate how long the children had been in the car, and
that she had “nothing to add at this time.”
Jasmine Mendieta, 5, and her brother Nathan Mendieta, 2, were
reported missing by their mother, Stacey Mendieta the afternoon of
Aug. 20.
The children were found in the vehicle outside the home of
Kenneth S. and Pamela L. VanHerpen, Stacey’s parents. Primarily a
community of retirees, the residents on Bramblewood Drive in Castle
Pines North were stunned and heartbroken over the tragedy.
The temperature was about 89 degrees Aug. 20 and according to
medical reports, the temperature inside a closed automobile can
rise substantially, sometimes to 40 degrees hotter within as few as
10 minutes.
According to The National Institutes of Health, a person
experiencing hyperthermia goes through many symptoms from nausea to
seizures.
“This case is still an open and an ongoing investigation,” said
Cocha Heyden, public information officer for Douglas County
Sheriff’s Office, said in an Aug. 29 news release.
303-663-7169
msample@ccnewspapers.com
