Toddler found dead in SUV outside Florida preschool

A 23-month-old boy was found dead inside an SUV outside a preschool in Plantation, Florida, on Monday afternoon, and local police say they are investigating the circumstances surrounding the toddler's death.

Officers with the Plantation Police Department and the Plantation Fire Department responded to A World of Discovery Academy at approximately 5:39 p.m. on Monday after receiving a report of a deceased child inside a vehicle, police said in a post shared on X on Tuesday.

Fire Department officials pronounced the child dead at the scene, and detectives subsequently launched a death investigation, police said, adding that no further information was available at that time.

Speaking to ABC Miami affiliate WSVN-TV , A World of Discovery Academy owner Leslie Novoa said she called 911 after she and the child's father discovered the toddler in the back seat of the father's SUV.

"Unfortunately, the dad arrived to pick up his child, and when he arrived to the parking lot, he realized he forgot the child," Novoa said. "He never dropped off the child at the school."

Novoa said the family has been enrolled at the preschool for years and that the toddler was the family's third child to attend the school.

"They're a very loving family, and unfortunately, this happened," she added.

Investigators spent several hours collecting evidence at the scene, and a tent was erected around the SUV, according to WSVN-TV.

Novoa urged parents to always check the back seat before leaving their vehicles.

"Driving, making sure that they drop off the children at school, double checking the back chair always," she said. "You know, it's just to make sure that they did the right thing."

As of Tuesday afternoon, Plantation police had not announced whether anyone would face charges. ABC News has reached out to the Plantation Police Department for additional information and comment.

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