2-year-old found in car with dead father, police say

A Michigan toddler was found alone in a car with his dead father early Monday in a store parking lot.

The Allegan County Sheriff's Office reported that a motorist in Plainwell approached a deputy at a gas station around 1 a.m. Monday and told him that there was a man passed out in a car at a store down the street. The motorist said a small child was sitting in the back seat of the vehicle.

When the deputy went to the car, he found that the man, later identified as Levi Ryan Newcomb, 29, of Kalamazoo, was not breathing. He and first responders tried to revive Newcomb, to no avail.

MLive.com reported that the 2-year-old boy, who was unhurt, was placed in the custody of family members.

The investigation into Newcomb’s death found that a second man had been traveling with the father and son, but was inside the store at the time that Newcomb was found, the Sheriff’s Office said. It was not immediately clear whether the man, who had been in the store for as long as two hours, knew Newcomb had died, or when or how Newcomb died.

Newcomb had a history of drug abuse and health issues that may have factored into his death, the Sheriff's Office said. The investigation is ongoing, with detectives awaiting autopsy and toxicology results.

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