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The Washington County Attorney's Office will screen possible criminal liability in the weekend death of a toddler left in a hot car outside a Winchester Hills residence.

However, Washington County sheriff's spokesman David Crouse said Monday that initial investigation into the late Saturday afternoon death of the 2-year-old boy leaned toward "the incident [being] a tragic accident."

Deputies and paramedics were dispatched to the St. George suburb at 6:34 p.m. Saturday on a 911 call reporting an unresponsive child. Efforts to revive the toddler were unsuccessful, and the child was declared dead at the scene.

Investigators learned that several families, with up to 35 total children, had traveled to Utah from out of state to attend a family reunion.

The 2-year-old was among several children who arrived at the residence in a van. Apparently, the child fell asleep and was not immediately missed after the other children and adults exited the vehicle.

It appeared the boy had been left in the vehicle for at least six hours before he was discovered, according to Crouse.

Temperatures in St. George on Saturday hit 109 degrees.

Family members searched the home and neighborhood before the boy's father found him.

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