DULUTH – A Hibbing boy who was trapped in a hot car Monday afternoon has died.

The 3-year-old and his twin were hospitalized after they were found unresponsive and in distress from the extreme heat in their father's locked vehicle in Hibbing, according to Hibbing Police Chief Steve Estey.

The boy who had been airlifted to Children's Minnesota hospital in Minneapolis died Tuesday. His brother was released from St. Mary's Medical Center in Duluth. Possible charges against the father of the boys have been sent to the St. Louis County Attorney's Office for review, police said.

The boy's mother, in a statement released through Children's Minnesota, said "we are devastated," and declined interviews.

"Our family would like to thank the community for its thoughts and well wishes, and request privacy at this time," the statement said.

The boys had been reported missing from a residence about 90 minutes before their discovery, apparently having entered the vehicle on their own. A citizen helping with the search found them and alerted Hibbing police.

The temperature in Hibbing around that time was 85 degrees, but the inside of the vehicle could have reached at least 130 degrees.

According to the national advocacy group Kids and Car Safety, the Hibbing boy is the third child to die in a hot car in the U.S. this week, and the 13th this year. The last child to die from heat exposure in Minnesota was a 1-year-old girl in Nov. 2020 in Milaca, said Kids and Car Safety director Amber Rollins. The girl had been left in the car with the heater running for several hours.

Jana Hollingsworth • 218-508-2450