Stephanie Loesch found her son, Jacob, unresponsive in his car seat as she was leaving school for the day.

Police wouldn't say how long Jacob had been in the vehicle or how long Stephanie Loesch had been at the school Tuesday. But a letter to students from Principal Bonnie Strobbe said Loesch found Jacob "strapped into his car seat, where he had apparently been for some time.

School staff tried to resuscitate the baby before emergency medical crews arrived, said Sauk Rapids-Rice Superintendent Greg Vandal.

The boy was in distress when police arrived at about 3:55 p.m., said Police Chief Curt Gullickson, and officers also tried CPR to revive him.

Jacob was taken by ambulance to St. Cloud Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

An autopsy was performed Wednesday at the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office, and a preliminary cause of death was sent to Gullickson. He declined to release that information Wednesday and wouldn't confirm the identity of the child or his parents.

Gullickson declined to answer several questions about what led to Tuesday's tragedy at the school, saying his department was in the middle of an ongoing investigation that, once completed, will be sent to Benton County Attorney Robert Raupp for review.

"We don't have a lot of facts, so to speculate and (make a) conjecture is not what I'm going to do," Gullickson said.

Attempts to reach family members Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Loesch has taught at Mississippi Heights since fall 1999, Vandal said. Extra counselors and social workers were on hand Wednesday at Mississippi Heights to help staff members and students deal with the tragedy, Vandal said. He cautioned against speculating about what happened.

"I do know that terrible things can happen to good people. This is a tragedy," Vandal said. "I cannot imagine good people putting their lives back together after something like this."

School staff members were called and told about the death Tuesday night. Strobbe told students about the death Wednesday morning and sent notes to parents about it.

"It is a very sad accident," Strobbe said.

Strobbe met with school staff Wednesday morning to discuss the death.

"They are tired, sad and vulnerable and are taking care of each other," Strobbe said.

The school hired substitutes for teachers and other staff who needed the extra support or who needed a break from their work to process the situation, Strobbe said.

In an announcement Wednesday morning, Strobbe told students about the death.

"She challenged the kids to take care of the staff. She said this is an opportunity for students to take care of the staff who normally take care of them," Vandal said.

Raupp will review the investigation for consideration of possible criminal charges.

"Obviously there is a tragedy of a child deceased, and there is an investigation ongoing," Raupp said. "We'd rather not comment until the investigation is complete."

In late July, an Anoka County grand jury indicted a 38-year-old man on a charges of second-degree manslaughter-child endangerment after he left his 4-month-old-son alone in his car seat in a Blaine parking lot for nearly eight hours. Kevin Daley told police he thought the child had been dropped off at day care, a part of his daily routine.

Gullickson didn't say how long Jacob Loesch had been in his mother's vehicle. There didn't appear to any obvious signs of trauma to the child, Raupp said.

It wasn't immediately clear whether heat or dehydration might have been a factor in the baby's death.

Everyone he's talked to has strong emotions about the boy's death, Gullickson said.

"Anytime a child is injured or killed or dies, there is a sense of sadness for everyone," he said. "The bad part is that this stuff happens all the time around the country, and you might never hear about it. Unfortunately, this happened right here in our city."

"Certainly what we do know is that a beautiful, young child has died and an inconceivable grief has resulted," Strobbe said in her letter to students and their parents. "The Loesch family and everyone at Mississippi Heights appreciates your support and cooperation at this time."