Mom Charged in Death of Toddler, Dog Left in Hot Car Claims She was Swept Away by River in Maine and Unable to Return to the Vehicle
A Delaware County woman, who is currently in police custody in Maine after being charged with manslaughter in the death of her child, allegedly told police she left her 3-year-old daughter and the family’s dog in a vehicle for more than 15 hours because she was washed away in a river while picking up trash.
According to an affidavit, Kelly Brown, 40, of Havertown, was visiting her family in Maine when she took her daughter, Fiona, and Penelope, a 13-year-old family dog, camping.
Brown Claims She was Swept Away While Picking Up Trash as She Wanted to Teach Her Daughter About Nature Conservation
According to court documents, Brown and her daughter left Pennsylvania on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025, and planned to spend a month with family in Maine. However, during that trip, court documents note, Brown “noticed a lot of trash” at camping areas and wanted to teach her daughter about protecting nature.
At some point on Saturday, Brown took her daughter and the dog to a Freshie’s gas station on Route 2 in Milford, Maine, where, court documents claim, they spent time cleaning the parking lot “because it was such a mess.”
On Saturday morning, court documents note, Brown claimed she had eventually left the child and dog in her locked Nissan Murano and went to retrieve a trash bag.
When she went into a wooded area, Brown allegedly told police she tripped down an embankment and fell into the nearby Penobscot River, where, she claimed, she was swept away and was unable to return to her vehicle for several hours.
Brown’s Clothes Were Not Wet When She Returned to the Vehicle, She Claims The Clothes Had Dried
According to court documents, a review of surveillance footage from the scene showed that Brown left her child and the dog in a locked car, with the windows rolled up, at 5:56 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025.
She did not return to the vehicle until 8:30 p.m. that evening, to find officers investigating her abandoned vehicle in the gas station parking lot with her child and dog inside, police said.
According to court documents, Brown’s clothing were not wet when she returned to the vehicle, though, she allegedly told police they had dried since she claimed she had fallen in the river.
A medical examiner determined both Fiona and Penelope died due to excessive heat in the locked vehicle and were likely dead for some time before their bodies were found, according to court documents.
Brown Had Posted Videos on Social Media Claiming She Had Been ‘Seeing Spirits’
Before officers discovered the vehicle, a missing persons report had been filed for Brown and her daughter after, court documents claim, Brown had posted videos to social media claiming she had been “seeing spirits.” Brown is currently in custody in Maine on $50,000 bail.
