Nebraska Girls, 3, Found Nearly Frozen -- Twins Go Out To Play In Sub-Zero Cold

OMAHA, Neb. - Three-year-old twin sisters who apparently woke up during the night and decided to go out to play were found in a stupor early yesterday, huddled together in an alley in the 10-below-zero cold.

Jennifer and Kourtney Woracek were discovered wearing only pants and light shirts. One girl had lost both boots along the way; the other just one. Jennifer was unconscious; Kourtney was barely conscious.

They were hospitalized with severe frostbite and exposure - Jennifer in critical condition, Kourtney in serious condition.

Jennifer's body temperature was less than 70 degrees, and her heart had stopped, Children's Hospital officials said. Doctors revived her and performed heart and lung bypass surgery, pulling the child's blood out of her body and warming it before recirculating it.

The girls apparently got up during the night and decided to go play, said police spokesman Sgt. William Muldoon. They had packed a bag with snacks.

The girls' father awoke, saw a light on and then discovered the open door. He called 911 shortly after 4 a.m.

An hourlong search ended when an officer followed footsteps in the snow, across a four-lane street and up a hill to the alley 1 1/2 blocks from their home.

"It was really a miracle that we found them," said Officer Mary Schindler, one of the officers who discovered the children. "This neighborhood was full of back yards with places to hide."

Kourtney was huddling over her sister to keep her warm, Muldoon said. One girl may have shed her coat, since one was found just outside the house. Three little boots were also found. There was 2 to 3 inches of snow on the ground.

Police said it was not clear how long the girls had been outside.

The girls' parents, Tom and Marlene Woracek, were not at fault, Muldoon said. The family issued a statement saying they would "like to thank everyone for their concern and prayers for their daughters."

Neighbor Susan Escamilla, who has six children of her own, said the girls' mother never let them out of her sight.

"They play in this fenced-in yard," she said, "and she's always watching them."