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.
