Dead toddler found outside St. Louis school has been identified by police

A 1-year-old child who died Monday afternoon was already unresponsive when his mother brought him into the Casa Dia Montessori school in St. Louis, according to a school official.

Donna Tilley, director of Casa Dia Montessori school, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the child’s mother arrived at the school on Kinswood Lane at 4:55 p.m. Monday, documented on a visitor check-in log.

The mother realized the boy, Tate Mitchell, was still in the van outside and brought him into the school, the Post-Dispatch reported.

When police arrived around 5 p.m. for a “sick case,” Tate was unresponsive and not breathing. A 911 call indicated that a baby had been left in a car since the morning, and was not breathing.

Police said Tate had most likely been left in the vehicle “for an extended period of time.”

The Post-Dispatch reported that after an hour in Tuesday’s high temperature, a car could reach up to 123 degrees.

Medics attempted to save Tate as he was taken to the hospital but he did not survive, according to a St. Louis County Police release Monday. Tate’s autopsy was completed Tuesday, and police continue to investigate the case.

This story was originally published September 12, 2017 at 1:09 PM with the headline "Dead toddler found outside St. Louis school has been identified by police."