West Plains, MO (July 22, 2025) — A 4-year-old child was rescued from a locked vehicle in the parking lot of the Walmart Supercenter on Preacher Roe Boulevard Sunday evening, after a good Samaritan broke a car window to reach the unattended child.
At approximately 7:15 p.m. on July 20, West Plains Police Officer Joseph E. Tombley responded to the scene following a report of a child locked inside a black Chrysler passenger car with no adult present. Upon arrival, Officer Tombley found that the driver’s side window had been broken by a bystander to access the child.
According to witnesses on the scene, the child’s father, identified as Luca Woodard, returned to the vehicle shortly after being paged over the store’s intercom system. After being read his Miranda rights, Mr. Woodard allegedly admitted to knowingly leaving his 4-year-old child alone inside the vehicle with the windows rolled up and the engine turned off while he went inside to shop.
Surveillance footage and witness accounts confirmed that Woodard had been inside the store for approximately 15 minutes before returning to the parking lot.
At the time of the incident, the temperature in West Plains was 88 degrees Fahrenheit, with a heat index of 90, according to weather reports.
Emergency personnel from South Howell County Ambulance examined the child and determined there were no signs of injury or immediate health concerns.
Mr. Woodard was placed under arrest for endangering the welfare of a child, 1st degree, and is being held at the Howell County Sheriff’s Office on a 24-hour PFC
