A 2-year-old toddler who was reported missing on Tuesday evening was found late Wednesday night in the trunk of a locked car dead from probable hyperthermia, a condition caused by the extremely high body temperature, according to the Associated Press.
Isaiah Theis had been playing with his 7-year-old brother near their home in Centuria, Wis., when he disappeared on Tuesday evening. All throughout Wednesday police conducted an extensive search of the area hoping that they could find the toddler who had a history of wandering off.
The weather on both Tuesday night and Wednesday was incredibly warm with temperatures peaking at 92 degrees. The temperature inside of the trunk of the car would have been much hotter than that, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
The car was on the property because Theis' father runs an auto shop from home. Theis' body was discovered when the owner of the car came to pick it up Wednesday night. While the police had searched around the car they had never thought to look into the trunk because the car was locked, the Associated Press reports.
"Would we liked to have forced entry to the car? Yeah, from my personal perspective," Chief Deputy Steve Moe told reporters.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office has not announced whether the death is being considered to be accidental or potentially the result of a crime.
"I know that there's strong interest in what caused it and what things led to the boy getting in that car," Moe said. "It's just too early. A full autopsy has been requested and it would be inappropriate for anyone to speculate as to the cause and nature of death until that examination has been done."
The police were joined by over 2,000 civilian volunteers on Wednesday as they searched the fields and woods hoping to find the lost toddler.
Rachel Humpal closed her local flower shop to help search for the boy.
"It still just baffles me," Humpal told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "I'm sure we walked by that vehicle how many times. That was one of my first questions - did somebody check the trunk?"
Melissa Johnson also helped the in the search on Wednesday but had to leave early because of the heat.
"I felt horrible. I wanted to keep looking, but I couldn't," Johnson told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "Then to find out that they found him in the trunk of a car...it hurts. Why didn't they open that trunk and look?"
