CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) - The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office will review its internal policies after a 5-year-old girl died in foster care about a week after investigators removed her from her home. Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said Thursday that Elizabeth Holder didn't received a medical screening within the 72-hour period after removal as required by law.
The death remains under investigation, so it's unknown whether a screening would have saved the girl. The sheriff's office reports that deputies responded to a Clearwater mobile home park Jan. 11 and found the girl's mother to be under the influence of prescription drugs. Investigators removed Elizabeth from her home and placed her with a foster family.
A babysitter was watching the girl Saturday when she began yelling that her head hurt. She collapsed and was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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