Stacey Fazenbaker rushed across the parking lot of her medical practice, gripped by dread as she ran toward her car.
Inside was her 10-month-old granddaughter, Scottie Gwyn Crowell, who was meant to have been dropped off at daycare roughly eight hours earlier.
Police said Fazenbaker instead drove to Owensboro Health Multicare in Madisonville, Kentucky, where she works as a family doctor, apparently forgetting the infant was still in the back seat.
The desperate dash ended in heartbreak. Scottie was found lifeless, still strapped into her car seat, as the outside temperature climbed to 95F and the heat inside the vehicle rose far higher.
Fazenbaker, 61, had moved to Madisonville only a year earlier to live near her daughter, 33-year-old Sydni Crowell, an OB/GYN at a nearby clinic.
According to Madisonville Police, Crowell was working an early shift last Thursday and asked Fazenbaker to collect Scottie and take her to daycare on the way to work.
Known as an attentive grandmother, Fazenbaker often helped with Scottie and her three-year-old brother to ease the strain on their working parents, and she picked up the baby between 6.45 and 7am.
But in a tragedy police say mirrors cases involving dozens of parents, relatives and caregivers across the US each year, she forgot the baby was seated directly behind her.
Scottie Gwyn Crowell, a 10-month-old baby girl, died in the back seat of her grandmother’s car after she was accidentally left there for eight hours
Scottie was born through IVF on September 20, 2025, after her parents Sydni and Micah Crowell (pictured with Scottie) failed to conceive when trying for second child
Scottie’s grandmother Stacey Fazenbaker, 61, was supposed to drop her off at daycare but instead drove to Owensboro Health Multicare in Madisonville, Kentucky, where she is a family doctor – forgetting the baby girl was in the back seat
No one knew Scottie was slowly dying in the hot car until her father, Micah Crowell, arrived at the daycare about 4pm and was told she was never dropped off.
Police said the confused dad called his wife, who rang Fazenbaker for the worst conversation of her life.
‘She (Fazenbaker) ran outside with some co-workers to get the child. But it was far too late by then,’ Madisonville Police Major Jason McKnight told reporters.
‘Officers arrived on scene, [paramedics] and the fire department arrived shortly after they did, and they found the infant.
‘The grandmother had already got the child, and so the officers tried some lifesaving measures, but unfortunately it was too late for that.’
Officers said they were investigating Scottie’s death and urged locals to leave the infant’s family alone while they did their jobs.
Scottie was born on September 20, 2025, via in-vitro fertilization, after her parents couldn’t conceive when trying for a second child.
‘After a failed embryo transfer, this beautiful IVF baby has brought us such joy,’ Crowell wrote next to a photo of her swaddled newborn.
Crowell had only just started at Baptist Health Deaconess in February last year after completing her residency at Mercy Hospital in St Louis.
Scottie as a newborn in hospital with her parents and three-year-old brother
‘After a failed embryo transfer, this beautiful IVF baby has brought us such joy,’ Crowell wrote next to a photo of her swaddled newborn
Crowell had only just started at Baptist Health Deaconess when Scottie was born, after completing her residency at Mercy Hospital in St Louis
Photos on her social media accounts showed the adorable baby girl playing at the beach and being cuddled by her big brother.
Those posts have been replaced by announcements of Scottie’s funeral at Barnett-Strother Funeral Home on Thursday, with donations to a memorial fund.
‘We love you so much, our sweet baby girl,’ Sydni’s sister Emmy Fazenbaker, a sports reporter for Middle Tennessee State University, wrote.
Fazenbaker’s family did not answer calls from Our News Outlet.
No charges have been laid against Fazenbaker, and police said they were still investigating exactly what happened.
‘This case is actively being investigated by detectives as they gather video footage, interview coworkers, speak with daycare workers and look at phone records,’ McKnight said.
‘As the picture becomes clearer on how this could have possibly happened, there is a possibility charges are sought before the grand jury convenes.’
Fazenbaker had a blood test for drugs and alcohol that is still being processed, but police said they don’t expect it would come back positive.
An autopsy was done on Scottie’s body last week as part of the investigation.
Fazenbaker pushes Scottie on the swings at their local park
Photos on her social media accounts showed the adorable baby girl playing at the beach and being cuddled by her big brother
Fazenbaker’s patients, both in Madisonville and her former practice in Owensboro, rallied to her defense online.
‘She is the most caring person and doctor I have ever met. She has helped thousands of people with her functional health knowledge,’ Angela Ocasio wrote.
‘She moved to Madisonville to be close to her family and grandchild. It was a mistake, we all make them, unfortunately this was a fatal one.
‘This is a life altering situation for many people. Praying hard for her, the family, and everyone else affected by this.’
Theresa Tichenor, who said she was a former patient, added: ‘She will spend the rest of her life with regrets. You’re not in her shoes, please don’t judge.’
Other patients recalled how Fazenbaker prayed with their husband when he was diagnosed with stage four cancer, and was ‘the only doctor who cared enough’ to diagnose and treat their son.
Police said they wanted to fully investigate the incident before deciding whether Fazenbaker should face criminal charges.
‘We understand the emotions the community is feeling in this case… We are not sitting idle waiting to present this to the grand jury,’ McKnight said.
Sydni (second from left) with Micah (left) Fazenbaker (center) and her father Bryan and sister Emmy, who is a sports reporter for Middle Tennessee State University
Scottie’s funeral will be held at Barnett-Strother Funeral Home on Thursday, with donations to a memorial fund instead of flowers
Police can level various charges from neglect to manslaughter after hot car deaths, depending on what harm comes to a child and the circumstances surrounding them being left.
However, parents who mistakenly believe their children were not in the car are often not charged as the pain of losing a child is considered punishment enough.
About 37 children die from being left in a hot car every year across the US, including at least 23 in Kentucky since 1998, according to statistics by No Heat Stroke.
Texas and Florida had by far the most deaths with 155 and 115, and the hot South and South West had the most per capita.
Children can’t regulate their temperature as efficiently as adults and their body temperatures warm three to five times faster.
Heatstroke sets in when body temperature reaches 104F and organs begin to shut down at 107F.
Temperatures inside a car can rise to 104F in just half an hour on a 70F day, and reach 115F in an hour. On a 95F day it would get to 140F in an hour.
Cracking the window only reduces the internal temperature by about 3F.
As difficult as it is to imagine forgetting your child in a car, experts explain that parents often function on autopilot and lose awareness that a child is there.
No Heat Stroke suggested putting a soft toy in the front seat to remind you there was a child in the car, or putting items you need in the back seat next to the child.
Vehicles should also be locked at all times and keys kept out of reach to stop curious children climbing in and getting locked inside.
