Cop breaks into car to save baby—but realizes shocking truth too late

A police officer rushed to save a baby left in a hot car—only to discover it wasn’t a baby at all.

On a sweltering summer day in Keene, New Hampshire, Officer Jason Short responded to a 911 call that no officer ever wants to hear: a baby left alone in a parked car. The vehicle was baking in the sun outside a Walmart, and the situation looked dire.

“I got there as soon as I could,” Jason told local station WMUR. “I don’t know how fast I was going, but it was quick.”

From the outside, it was clear—small feet poked out from under a blanket inside the locked car. Jason didn’t waste a second. He smashed a window with his baton and pulled what he believed to be a lifeless baby from the vehicle. Its pale skin and still body made him fear the worst.

CPR was started immediately. An ambulance was called. A crowd gathered.

But then—Jason noticed something strange.

Not a real baby after all

As he tried to revive the unresponsive infant, Jason realized the texture didn’t feel quite right. The skin was too rubbery. The body too stiff.

Then it hit him: this wasn’t a baby. It was a doll.

Specifically, it was a hyper-realistic “reborn” doll—handcrafted to look and feel like a real infant. The kind used by grieving parents or collectors. The kind so lifelike that even a trained officer could be fooled.

The doll’s owner, Carolynne Seiffer, returned to find her car window shattered and a crowd surrounding her $2,000 doll, which she lovingly named Ainsley.

“I’ve been laughed at and embarrassed by all the fuss,” Carolynne said in an interview.

But her story goes deeper than just a hobby. Carolynne owns about 40 reborn dolls. She began collecting them to cope with the devastating loss of her own son. For her—and many others like her—the dolls aren’t just collectibles. They’re part of a healing process.

“You can’t know how people choose to deal with their losses in life,” she explained.

A moment of panic—and perspective

Though Officer Jason Short was momentarily embarrassed, he stood by his actions.

“I would never assume that it’s a doll,” he said. “I would always assume that it’s a child. I would never do anything different.”

The Keene Police Department later paid the $300 it cost to repair Carolynne’s window.

This unusual incident sheds light on several important issues. First, the risks of leaving anything—or anyone—unattended in a hot car. Temperatures inside a parked vehicle can soar within minutes, putting lives at risk.

Second, it brings awareness to the existence of reborn dolls, often misunderstood by the public. For many, they are more than toys—they’re tools for coping with loss, trauma, and emotional healing.

Finally, it highlights the tough decisions first responders make in high-stakes situations. Officer Short made a split-second judgment based on what he believed to be a life-or-death emergency. And while it turned out to be a false alarm, the story reminds us of the real dangers children face in parked cars—and the emotional struggles some people carry silently.

Though no real child was harmed, this story is a powerful reminder: never leave children or pets in a vehicle on a warm day. And if you’re a reborn doll owner, police recommend storing them out of sight—in the trunk or carrying them with you—to avoid confusion or unnecessary panic.

In a world full of unpredictability, it’s better to act and be wrong than to do nothing and regret it.

Share this story to help raise awareness—and maybe even save a life.