Cops called to Mason City parking lot to free kid from hot car, but discover it was mannequin

MASON CITY – A supposed concerned citizen called police about a young girl trapped in a hot car at a Mason City supermarket parking lot, but emergency responders discovered something else entirely.

With temps reaching the mid to upper 80s Wednesday afternoon, a caller reported to police at about 12:48 PM that there was a young girl, approximately 10 years old, in a Jeep for the last hour and the child had not moved. The Jeep was parked in the parking lot near Hy Vee West.

Police officers and fire department medics (EMS) responded to the scene.

Police tell NIT that “once they were near the Jeep, the EMS and police personnel could see the “young girl” was actually a mannequin or a large doll (see photo of the object, at top). EMS did not make contact with the vehicle owner nor identify the caller.

“It is unknown if the call was a genuine concern or prank,” police said.

The owner of the vehicle told NIT that he has removed the mannequin from his Jeep and he only had it in there because he thought it was kind of funny.