Sheriff Shoulders Blame in Death of Clearwater Girl, 5, While in Foster Care
Authorities failed to ensure the girl underwent a required medical exam after she was taken from her Clearwater home, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri says his department is responsible for an ommission in the care of a 5-year-old Clearwater girl who died while in foster care, and his department is conducting an internal investigation. The girl failed to undergo a required health screening within 72 hours of being taken from her home earlier this month, Gualtieri said in a news conference Thursday in Largo. She died eight days after being placed in foster care, without ever having undergone the exam, Gualtieri said. "We are going to be candid, forthright, and transparent," he said. "An omission occurred where we should have acted and didn't." The sad story of Elizabeth Holder begins on Jan. 11, when neighbors called about a child wandering …
