(CNN) — Two young children were found dead Friday in Parker County, Texas, in what appears to be a hot car incident.
According to a press release from the sheriff’s office, the mother of the children — a 2-year-old girl and a 16-month-old boy — found them in a locked vehicle, after they “took off.”
After searching the property, she found them in the car, the release said. She reportedly broke a window to reach the children, but both were unresponsive.
Authorities were alerted to the incident just after 4 p.m., the release said, when temperatures had reached 96 degrees. The children were pronounced dead.
“This case is in the early stages of the investigation,” Sheriff Larry Fowler said in the release. “Any comment regarding this case at this time, would be an assumption, until all of the facts are gathered.”
Parker County is west of Fort Worth.