Off-duty police captain leaves 2-year-old daughter locked inside hot minivan while fishing at lake with partner: Cops

Inset: Capt. Mayde McGuire (Lincoln Police Department/City of Lincoln). Background: News footage of Pawnee Lake in Lincoln, Neb. (KOLN).

A Nebraska woman who works as a police captain was on the other side of the law when someone allegedly found her toddler locked in her minivan.

Mayde McGuire, 54, was cited for child abuse along with her partner, Mary Tobiassen, 49, when their 2-year-old daughter was allegedly found by another couple who were fishing at the same lake. According to police, McGuire and Tobiassen were fishing at Pawnee Lake in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Sunday afternoon. Another couple walked by a black minivan parked in the parking lot and saw the little girl, who was "crying and screaming." When they realized the toddler was alone and the van was locked, they called 911.

The Lancaster County Sheriff's Department said during a press conference on Monday that McGuire is a police captain with the Lincoln Police Department and was off duty at the time.

Police said McGuire removed the little girl before deputies arrived at the scene. According to Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner, the toddler was by herself in the van for at least 28 minutes before she was found. Wagner said the outdoor temperature was 78 degrees Fahrenheit, but noted "how quickly the interior of a vehicle can get extremely hot."

Local CBS affiliate KOLN spoke to the couple who found McGuire's daughter, Braydon Nichols and Izabella Glover. Glover told KOLN that the little girl reportedly "crawled over" and escaped her car seat to get to the front seat of the minivan and started "banging" on the window.

She added that the little girl was "in distress. It wasn't a child just wanting to get out of something they didn't want to do. They wanted their parents. They didn't know what was going on."

More from Law&Crime: Mom picking up Uber Eats order left 1-year-old in hot car for 30 minutes after forgetting where she parked: Police

Police said the toddler was uninjured and given back to her parents. According to Wagner, McGuire took a preliminary breath test at the scene, which showed she had a blood alcohol content of 0.108.

McGuire was placed on leave during the investigation into the charges against her. Both she and Tobiassen were cited for misdemeanor child abuse. Neither of them was arrested. Court dates for McGuire and Tobiassen were not available.