Halton Police confirm the cause of death for a 3 year old boy left in a hot car in a parking lot in Burlington Wednesday afternoon was hyperthermia - or overheating.
Emergency crews received a 911 call from a "hysterical" man at the CrossRoads Centre near QEW and Waterdown road around 5:30 p.m., who said the child was in the vehicle and was not breathing.
Police and paramedics arrived to find the boy outside of a grey Ford Escape.
"Halton Regional Police received a call from a hysterical male indicating a young male child was not breathing," said police, who confirmed resuscitation activities were performed at the scene. "Unfortunately the child was pronounced dead by EMS."
The autopsy - performed in Toronto on Thursday - showed the boy was killed by the extreme heat.
Authorities have not confirmed just how long the child may have been in the SUV vehicle before police and EMS were called to the scene, nor have they said if the child was with a family member at the time.
"it's so early in the investigation," Insp. Anthony Odoardi told CP24 Wednesday evening. "We're gathering information from witnesses and other types of information that we can gather from the scene here and at that time, we'll have a better idea."
The Ford Escape has since been towed away by police for further investigation.
According to The Weather Network, temperatures in Burlington were sitting at 26 C at the time the boy was found. However, studies have shown the temperature within a closed vehicle parked in that temperature could reach as high as 45 C, enough to cause serious heat stroke.
- With files from The Canadian Press and Jackie Rosen