The child's seven-year-old sister was also left by herself near the car, according to local media.
A British man is being hunted for suspected child abandonment in Tenerife after a baby was found in a hot car with her young sister stood outside, it has been reported.
A concerned local woman found the infant in a Volkswagen Polo parked under the sun with the windows up in front of a shopping centre in Los Cristianos on June 17, when temperatures peaked at 26°C, according to local media.
As she approached the vehicle, the baby’s seven-year-old sister, who was outside the car, came over to her.
After the woman asked where their parents were, the older child reportedly told the woman their father was at a hairdresser.
When the woman expressed worry over the situation, the girl opened the car and locked herself inside with her sister.
After 15 minutes passed with no sign of the parents, the woman called police, according to the Local Police of the Canaries Blog.
Officers persuaded the seven-year-old to open the car, where they found yoghurts and fruit juices along with paperwork identifying the girls and a 38-year-old man claimed to be their father
The officers then questioned people in the shopping centre and spoke to a 38-year-old man who confirmed he was British but denied any relationship with the girls and gave a name which did not match the paperwork.
Detectives reportedly traced a driver’s licence linked to the car which confirmed that he was indeed the man responsible for the vehicle.
But by this point he had left the premises and could not be located.
The girls were taken to a care centre until their mother was eventually traced and they were handed over to her.
A search has been launched for the man, who would be arrested on suspicion of child abandonment if located, the report adds.
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