Utah man abandons daughter, 5, outside in cold overnight on school campus

OGDEN, Utah (KABC) -- Police say a father left his 5-year-old daughter alone to fend for herself in the frigid cold all night at a Utah school campus.

Early Sunday morning, a security officer at Ogden-Weber Applied Technology College found the girl wandering in 39-degree weather with a small blanket and little clothing.

Ogden police figured out the girl's own father left her. His actions were captured on surveillance video.

Why? Police - and even the girl's own mother - are stumped and want answers.

The girl's mother said her daughter was traumatized by the experience, which occurred while the child was staying with her father at his parent's house for the weekend, reports KSTU.

"She said she got scared," the girl's mother, said. "She was yelling, 'Daddy!' but no one was there."

Ogden police said the Department of Child and Family Services is involved in the investigation, and the man could be charged with felony child abandonment or abuse.

"We don't know really what purpose he would take the child, or if there's some drug-induced psychosis. Right now, we're waiting to interview the father," said Lt. Tim Scott.