Two Children Freeze to Death in Van Parked in Garage of Detroit Casino

_{Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and interim police Chief Todd Bettison spoke at a news conference about the deaths of two children in a cold vehicle. (Image: AP Photo/Ed White)}

Tragedy has struck a Detroit family who are believed to have been living out of a van for the last few months. Two children, aged 2 and 9, have died as a result of hypothermia, according to the Detroit Police Department.  

Reports indicate that the family had been living out of a van and parking at several casino garages in Detroit. The area has been subject to extremely low temperatures, and it is believed that the heater in the van had stopped working. Although it has not been confirmed, it is believed that the children died from hypothermia.  

Detroit Police reported that the children aged 9 and 2 had been found frozen to death on midday Monday, Feb 10, in the Hollywood Casino Hotel Greektown parking garage. 

Terrible Day for Detroit, Says Mayor 

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said: "It's a terrible day in Detroit as we deal with the tragic loss of two young people, and it's got to make us rethink everything that we're doing."  

Interim Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison said that the family had been living out of the van in Detroit for some time and using casino garages to park overnight.  

It is understood that the family had parked on the ninth floor of the Hollywood Casino Hotel parking garage around 1 a.m. on Monday and at some point during the night, the vehicle stopped running.  

Mother and Grandmother Dialled 911 on Two Occasions 

Police say that the mother had called 911 for help shortly after midnight when she noticed her 9-year-old child was not breathing. The child was then transported to a nearby hospital. Further checks on the other children in the van revealed that the 2-year-old was not breathing and this time the grandmother called 911.  

Tragically, both children were pronounced dead at the hospital. Interim Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison said, “The medical examiner will determine the official cause of death, though police preliminarily believe they died from hypothermia. The temperature in the garage was under 32 degrees.” 

Police Investigation Into Deaths Continues 

Police are continuing investigations into the deaths and those findings will be presented to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. 

Police reported that there were two adults and five children total between the ages of 2 and 13 in the vehicle. Fortunately, the other three children were given the all-clear following examination at the hospital.  

According to the Detroit mayor, the family had reached out to a homeless response team in late November 2024 and reported they were no longer able to stay with the family they had been living with and needed a place to go.

Mayor Duggan said, “No resolution was reached during that conversation. It was not deemed an emergency."

There have now been calls for a review of the family's case and of the city's homelessness services, including the call centre and public information policy. The mayor said that he also wants to instate a policy where outreach workers automatically do a site visit for cases involving minors.

He said, "The heartbreaking part of this is that there were family shelter beds available just a few miles away from where the family pulled into that Greektown structure but it brings home the point that having services available doesn't mean very much if the residents that need them don't know how to access them.”