JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Igloo Coolers is voluntarily recalling the Igloo® Marine Elite coolers sold through West Marine stores.
The recall comes after a Florida boy became trapped in a cooler during a game of hide-and-seek. The family’s home surveillance video caught the 5-year-old boy getting into the cooler and keeping the top slightly open, unlatched for about two minutes. But moments later, his fingers are seen in the surveillance video closing the latch. His family frantically searched for him and found him after hearing a muffled scream. He wasn’t hurt in the incident but the family asked Igloo to add safety features to its coolers.
The company is taking action. It has issued a recall for those Igloo® Marine Elite coolers with stainless-steel ability to lock latches sold under the item numbers listed below:
- Igloo® Marine Elite 72 quart; Item #00049375
- Igloo® Marine Elite 54 quart; Item #00049374
- Igloo® Marine Elite 94 quart; Item #00049574
- Igloo® Marine Elite 110 quart; Item #00034108
The company says the latch on them could possibly close with a person locked inside, just like what happened to the 5-year-old boy last week.
A second alert says "The stainless-steel latch on the above coolers has a sharp edge that might scratch or cut the skin, and this voluntary action on our part is to prevent any potential injuries posed from the latch when it’s not fully secured." This concerns only those Igloo® Marine Elite coolers with stainless-steel latches sold under the item numbers listed below:
- Igloo® Marine Elite 72 quart; Item #00044476
- Igloo® Marine Elite 128 quart; Item #00044479
- Igloo® Marine Elite 94 quart; Item #00044478
- Igloo® Marine Elite 162 quart; Item #00044480
The company says it is working with West Marine to give customers a free latch replacement kit to switch out the old latch. If you haven’t received a kit, you can call 1-888-257-0934 to see if the free latch-replacement kit has already been mailed to you. Once removed, customers are asked to discard the old stainless-steel latches.