Missing Burleson boy dies after police find him in hot car

A 5-year-old boy died Sunday afternoon after he wandered out of his house and got into an unlocked car, authorities said.

The boy’s grandmother called police at about 1 p.m. and said her autistic grandson, Zachary Elshaarawy, had been missing for about 15 minutes and several people had searched the home for him, Burleson city spokeswoman Sally Ellertson said in a statement.

Burleson police searched the home in the 2700 block of Lakeside Drive, a nearby lake and the area around Texas 174, Ellertson said.

Firefighters, police and more than 12 neighbors combed the surrounding area on foot and in golf carts, she said.

MedStar was first called to the scene at 1:39 p.m. while Burleson police were still trying to find the boy, MedStar spokesman Matt Zavadsky said.

Then at 1:53 p.m. police called for paramedics after they found him in a hot car, Zavadsky said.

A Burleson police sergeant found him in the back passenger-side seat in a car parked on the street between his home and a neighbor’s home, Ellertson said.

The search took 45 minutes. Teams looked at a nearby lake where the boy liked to go with his family, police said.

The boy was unconscious when he was taken out of the car, she said.

He was taken to Cook Children’s Medical Center in critical condition, Zavadsky said.

Zachary was pronounced dead at 3 p.m., according to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office.

The temperature in Burleson at 1:30 p.m. was 98 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

This story was originally published August 23, 2015 at 5:22 PM with the headline "Missing Burleson boy dies after police find him in hot car."