Bulloch County authorities are still investigating the death of a 14-month-old boy who died after he was left inside a hot car for more than three hours Sunday.

Around 5 p.m., police were called to a mobile home on Clifton Road in Statesboro in a part of town known as the Emit Community. The baby's mother, Sherese Mikell, 20, went to sleep earlier in the day. She left the baby, whose name was not released, and two other children in the care of two 14-year-old males. Reportedly, one was the mother's brother and the other was a cousin. Their names have also not been released.

"They were all playing in a car and didn't know the little one was still in it, and they locked it up and went inside," said Bulloch County Chief Deputy Lynn Anderson.

Temperatures in Statesboro reached the 90s Sunday.

The 14-year-olds told police they sat and talked in the car for about 15 minutes, but didn't notice the baby climb into the car's back seat.

"They played for about three more hours before they realized the little one was missing," Anderson said.

The baby sitters went back to the car and found the 14-month-old dead inside, police said.

The baby's body was sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab in Atlanta for autopsy. Autopsy results are pending, but police said the child likely died because of the high temperature in the car.

No charges have yet been filed in the case, said investigators, who released no additional information about the incident. The phone number listed for Mikell in Statesboro has been disconnected, and family members could not be reached for comment.

Dangerous temperatures

Cars parked in direct sunlight can reach internal temperatures of 131-172 degrees Fahrenheit when temperatures outside are 80-100 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. The major mechanism for heat loss by the body in high temperatures is evaporation, but that doesn't work in the rising humidity of closed cars. Younger children are at a greater risk for heat stroke, which usually occurs when body temperature reaches 105 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the CDC.