Salem police have charged two Lawrence, Mass., women for incidents occurring in the sweltering temperatures during the second week of June, one for leaving her child in the car and another for leaving her dog in the car.

Temperatures flirted with and, according to some weather reports, topped the 100 degree mark on Tuesday, June 10, when both incidents were reported by concerned witnesses.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Nattaly Brankovic, 24, whom Salem police Capt. Shawn Patten said left her 2-year-old daughter in the car while she went into Babies R Us.

Brankovic is being charged with endangering the welfare of a child, a class B felony carrying a sentence of three-and-a-half to seven years in prison.

Officers responded immediately to a call of a little girl alone in a black Acura in the parking lot. The windows to the car were cracked, Patten said, and the child was not in immediate distress. The car was unlocked, and by the time police arrived, store employees had opened the doors and were keeping an eye on the girl, who was found asleep in the back seat.

Brankovic was paged over the store’s P.A. system, and immediately came to the front of the store to meet police officers. Police did not arrest Brankovic on the spot because the child was not physically harmed, and was only in the car for a short time. The little girl was released back into her mother’s custody, Patten said.

“At that point, we made a decision not to traumatize the child further by taking the mother into custody,” Patten said. “It was obviously extremely poor judgment.”

He added Child Protective Services would likely launch their own investigation.

As of Monday, June 16, Brankovic had not yet been apprehended.

In an unrelated incident, Tatiane Montemor, 25, was arrested at around 6:30 p.m. on June 10 and charged with animal cruelty, a misdemeanor for the first offense.

Police said Montemor, also of Lawrence, left a small dog in her car in the Rockingham Mall parking lot.

Patten said police had to use a lockout device to get into Montemor’s car after she was paged numerous times in the mall and did not come outside.

The dog was in very poor condition, as the windows were entirely up.

Officers could feel the wave of heat leave the vehicle after they jimmied the locked door open, Patten said.

“The dog had been in there for some time,” he said, adding the dog was “panting heavily and clawing at the windows to get out.”

“We could not locate the owner right away, and the dog was in immediate danger. The person who called us probably saved that dog’s life,” Patten said.

Montemor will answer to her charges in Salem District Court on Monday, July 7.

Patten said anyone who sees something similar to either of these incidents should immediately contact the Salem Police Department at 893-1911, particularly when the mercury rises or falls to debilitating temperatures.

“Obviously, we strongly discourage anyone from leaving a child in a car at any time. It becomes critical during extreme temperature swings, either cold or hot,” Patten said. “We certainly appreciate the witnesses who called and let us know about these things.”