A 2-year-old boy in south Phoenix who was found unresponsive in a car this summer died from heat exposure, the Maricopa County Medical Examiner has now confirmed.
The Phoenix Police Department responded to calls about the unresponsive toddler on the evening of July 15, but the medical examiner did not confirm the child’s cause of death until this month.
“On July 15, 2026, at around 6:32 p.m., Phoenix Police officers responded to a home in the area of 25th Street and Fawn Drive regarding a young juvenile who was left in a parked car,” a statement from the police department said. “When officers arrived, they located 2-year-old Marcelino Valdez inside the home, unresponsive and in critical condition. He had reportedly been located inside a vehicle by his parent. The Phoenix Fire Department arrived on the scene and initiated advanced life support measures. Marcelino was then transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.”
The high temperature in Phoenix on July 15 was 109 degrees. It is unclear how long Valdez had been in the car before he was found.
A spokesperson for the Phoenix Police Department said an investigation is ongoing and as of now there have been no arrests in the case.
Another child, 5-year-old Theodore Sabo, died after he was mistakenly left asleep in a car for several hours on a 105-degree day in Peoria earlier this month. Sabo’s cause of death is still under investigation, the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s website shows.
Sabo’s parents were arrested on charges of negligent homicide and child abuse.
According to the organization Kids and Car Safety, 51 other children died in hot cars in Arizona from 1990 to 2025.
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