‘I just put him to sleep!’: Dad whose baby was found ‘hot to the touch’ inside Escalade insisted child was sleeping inside his home, police say
On June 16, a frantic emergency response unfolded in a residential neighborhood of Cheyenne, Wyoming. What began as a report regarding an allegedly impaired driver transformed into a tense, thirty-minute search for a missing infant. The incident culminated in a startling discovery inside a locked Cadillac Escalade and led to criminal child endangerment charges against the father, Jhadon Robert Michael Curry.
The case highlights the dangers of vehicular heatstroke, the fallibility of human memory, and the complex legal and psychological aftermath when a parent forgets a child in a vehicle.
The Initial Call and Police Arrival
The sequence of events began shortly before 8:30 p.m. when deputies from the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office received a tip. A caller reported that a man, who appeared to be under the influence, was getting into a vehicle and was about to drive away with an infant.
When deputies arrived at the Cheyenne residence, they located Jhadon Curry, but the infant was nowhere to be seen. Law enforcement officials immediately questioned Curry regarding the whereabouts and safety of his baby son. From the first moment of interaction, Curry vehemently denied that the child was in any danger, or even outside the residence. He repeatedly insisted that the infant was safe and sound, claiming that he had just put him down for a nap inside the house.
To reassure the responding deputies, Curry went so far as to call the infant’s mother on speakerphone. In the presence of law enforcement, he explicitly told her that he had “just put the baby to sleep” in the home. His outward confidence and definitive statements initially directed the focus of the investigation inside the walls of the residence.
The Search Inside the Residence
Acting on the father’s directives, Deputy Aaron Mondragon entered the home to verify the welfare of the infant. Curry told the deputy that the baby was sleeping peacefully in a back bedroom. However, when Deputy Mondragon reached the designated room, he discovered only an empty crib.
When confronted with the fact that the crib was empty, Curry shifted his narrative. He claimed that the infant was actually resting on a bed elsewhere in the home. The deputy conducted a second search of the house, checking the beds, rooms, and common areas, but found no trace of the child. Despite the mounting evidence that the baby was not in the building, Curry remained steadfast in his claim, insisting that deputies simply weren’t looking in the right place.
As the search inside the home crossed the thirty-minute mark without success, the atmosphere grew increasingly tense. The contradiction between the father’s unyielding assertions and the physical reality of the empty house forced deputies to expand their perimeter to the exterior of the property.
The Discovery in the Escalade
Following the unsuccessful sweeps of the interior, Deputy Mondragon walked out to the driveway where Curry’s Cadillac Escalade was parked. The windows of the SUV were completely rolled up, and the doors were locked. As deputies approached the luxury vehicle, they heard the muffled sound of crying coming from inside.
Looking through the windows, they spotted the infant strapped into a rear-facing car seat in the back row. The child was sweating profusely, crying loudly, and showing visible signs of severe physical distress. Even as law enforcement stood next to the vehicle looking directly at the baby, Curry reportedly continued to protest, pointing back toward the house and yelling to the deputies that they were mistaken. According to court affidavits, he shouted, “He is in the house! What are you talking about?!”
Deputies immediately ordered Curry to unlock the Escalade. Curry stated that he did not have the keys on his person, which required a brief delay while the keys were retrieved from inside the residence. Once the key fob was brought out, the vehicle was unlocked, and Deputy Mondragon pulled the infant from the car seat.
Upon touching the child, the deputy noted that the baby was “very hot to the touch, like he had a fever.” Emergency medical personnel from American Medical Response were immediately dispatched to the scene to treat the infant for heat exhaustion and evaluate whether further hospitalization was required. Fortunately, the child survived the ordeal.
The Reality of Vehicular Heatstroke
According to the timeline later reconstructed by investigators, the infant had been left alone in the locked SUV for approximately 31 minutes. While a half-hour might seem brief to some, the physical environment inside a closed vehicle escalates rapidly, making it incredibly dangerous for a small child.
On the evening of the incident, the outside temperature in Cheyenne was a mild 75°F. However, data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) indicates that the interior of a car acts like a greenhouse. When a vehicle is parked in the sun with the windows closed, the ambient temperature inside can skyrocket by 20 degrees in just 10 minutes, and hit a deadly threshold within a half-hour.
Furthermore, a child’s body temperature rises three to five times faster than an adult’s. Because infants cannot efficiently regulate their internal body temperature or sweat enough to cool down, they reach the critical stages of hyperthermia much quicker. In this instance, the quick intervention of the Laramie County deputies narrowly prevented what could have easily become a fatal case of vehicular heatstroke.
Sudden Realization and the Fabricated Alibi
According to the probable cause affidavit, Curry’s demeanor shifted dramatically the moment the baby was physically pulled from the Escalade. Witnessing the deputy holding his son, Curry looked at the officer with genuine surprise and asked, “Man, he’s in my car?” He then lowered his head and muttered quietly, “I didn’t get back too long ago,” his tone turning subdued and ashamed.
However, the investigation took a more complicated turn when deputies monitored Curry’s interactions with the child’s mother after her arrival. Investigators reported overhearing Curry whispering a specific narrative to the mother, instructing her to tell the police that he had been in the process of driving the infant to her workplace so she could breastfeed. When questioned later by authorities, the mother admitted that this explanation was completely fabricated by Curry, who had begged her to repeat it to the deputies to cover his tracks and mitigate his legal jeopardy.
Legal Charges and Criminal Proceedings
Following the investigation, Jhadon Robert Michael Curry was placed under arrest and booked into the Laramie County Christian Detention Center. The Laramie County District Attorney’s Office officially charged him with one count of child endangerment.
In Wyoming, child endangerment is classified as a misdemeanor offense. If convicted, Curry faces a statutory penalty of up to one year in county jail, a maximum fine of $1,000, or a combination of both. During his initial court appearance, Judge Antoinette Williams weighed the severity of the allegations and set Curry’s bond at $7,500, requiring cash only.
As of early July 2026, public records from the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office listed Curry as an active inmate, indicating he had not yet posted the required cash bail. His formal arraignment is officially scheduled to take place on July 31, 2026, where he will enter a formal plea to the charges.
For families navigating the hectic routines of parenting, safety experts recommend leaving a phone, wallet, or shoe in the back seat as a physical reminder to check the rear of the vehicle before walking away. Understanding the science behind hot car dynamics can prevent future tragedies. To hear a real-world perspective on how easily these lapses can occur, you can listen to this 911 call from an accidental hot car incident, which features a frantic father immediately contacting emergency services after accidentally leaving his child in an SUV.
