A 2-year-old boy died after crawling out of bed next to his sleeping mother and wandering outside on a frigid night, authorities and the woman said.
Dara Lenz found the body of her son, Lucas Boldt, in a snowbank about 10 to 20 feet from her home and called police, who tried to revive him. The temperature was minus 9.
Lenz, 26, said she and Lucas went to sleep in her bed at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, but when she woke up Wednesday morning, he was no longer next to her. He wasn't in his room, and she raced outside and found him in the snow.
"I woke up into a nightmare," Lenz said. "This is nothing you want to wake up to. ... It's just not fair. ... He was my pride and joy."
It was unclear if the doors had been locked.
"I don't know how it happened," Lenz said. "He's never wandered away before."
Police don't suspect foul play, though Cmdr. Myron Weiland said Thursday they were still investigating.