SANFORD, Fla. -- Seminole County Deputy Sheriff Bill Dunn recalls the chaotic moments when he rescued a three-year-old girl from a hot car in Sanford over the weekend.

He came to the Sanford apartment complex Sunday morning after the girl’s mother reported her car stolen, but when Dunn got there he says he found the car and the girl inside it.

“I opened the door and got hit with steamy hot air,” Dunn said.

The 3-year-old girl had been in the car for 12 hours overnight. Dunn checked the toddler but couldn’t find a pulse.

“She was sweaty, limp, so I took her back to my patrol car and put her under the AC,” Dunn said.

“At that point her eyes began to flutter -- so there were signs of life.”

By then, medics were on the way. But with the hospital close, Dunn decided to just drive the girl to the hospital in his patrol car.

He says his sense of urgency was heightened when he thought of his family. Dunn has two daughters.

“It was when I was pulling her out of the vehicle and running her back, I could remember my daughters in my arms like when they’re sleeping and it gave me a sense of urgency even more,” Dunn said.

The girl’s mother, Casey Keller, was arrested and charged with child neglect. Investigators say when she returned from a trip to a liquor store Saturday night, she took two of her kids back into her home with her but left the 3-year-old inside the car. 

When Keller called 911 Sunday morning, she initially told dispatchers she had left her daughter in her car for about an hour because the child was sleeping, and when she came back down to get her the car was gone.

Deputies say they found no signs the car was stolen. It was in front of Keller’s apartment when they arrived on scene.

Keller’s daughter is now fully recovered. On Tuesday, the girl’s father asked Deputy Dunn to come see her. Dunn says he brought a stuffed animal with him to make her feel more comfortable.

“She asked if that was mine, and I said 'no it’s yours,' and she took it from me and dad said, 'why don’t you give him a hug?'” Dunn said. 

“And when she gave me the hug all was right with the world at that point,” he added.

But Dunn’s not taking all the credit for saving her life.

“A lot of it had to do with her. She was a fighter. She was not ready to leave this earth, and she proved that for sure,” Dunn said.

Dunn has a message for all parents.

“You have to mindful,” Dunn said. “I can’t imagine forgetting my girls, I couldn’t. And unfortunately it still happens, and you can say it until you’re blue in the face, and hopefully eventually it will stop.”

Dunn will be recognized by the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office at an upcoming ceremony.

Casey Keller bonded out of jail and is set to face a judge in August.