A Minnesota toddler was found dead in a car after her father apparently forgot to take her to day care hours earlier, the Traverse County sheriff said.

Preliminary autopsy results indicate the cause of death was consistent with hyperthermia, or overheating, said Sheriff Don Montonye in a statement Thursday.

The 15-month-old girl was in a car parked on a Browns Valley street from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday. High temperatures in the area were in the mid 80s, according to the National Weather Service.

The father works at a nearby business and had intended to leave the child at a local day care, Montonye said. He apparently forgot the girl was in the car when he went to work.

Names of the father and child were not released Thursday.

The matter will be referred to the county attorney after the investigation is complete, the sheriff said.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)