Haile Brockington

A 2 1/2 year old girl was found dead on Thursday afternoon, Aug. 5, in a van outside a Delray Beach day care center.

The child, identified by great-aunt Susan Pinckney as Haley Brockington, was found in the rear of a day care center Ford Econoline van at about 4 p.m., said Delray Beach police spokesman Jeff Messer.

An employee of Katie's Kids Learning Center, 111 S.W. 10th Ave., is believed to have left the child in the van. Police did not immediately know who found the child, or how long she had been in the van. Today's high was 91 degrees at 1:50 p.m., according to National Weather Service in Miami.

A representative of the Palm Beach County State Attorney's office was on the scene, Messer said. The state Department of Children and Families has a Rapid Response Team onsite assisting law enforcement with the investigation, said Elisa Cramer, DCF communications director in Palm Beach County.

Messer said the parents were notified after 5 p.m. But police did not want to reveal the child's name until the parents had a chance to tell other relatives.

It was not immediately known how many children attend the day care center, but Messer said it is a licensed facility.

Katie's Kids Learning Center Inc., was formed in 2003, records show, and has locations on Southwest 10th Avenue and Northeast Third Avenue in Delray Beach and Southeast Second Street in Boynton Beach. Its president is Kathryn Muhammad and vice president is Barbara Dilthey.

Several residents who live near Katie's Kids, located in a residential neighborhood, said they did not know the owners.

As of July, Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue had received 249 calls about kids trapped in cars, Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Capt. Don DeLucia said. In 2009, they received 450 calls.

In the past 10 years in the U.S., about 450 youngsters locked in cars have died from hyperthermia. The average annual number of deaths is 37.

Local law enforcement and hopsital officials last month unveiled a new campaign, called, "Look Before You Lock," to decrease the number of child deaths from hyperthermia.

The goal of the campaign is to ingrain behavior that will keep parents and caregivers from forgetting where their kids are.

Officials recommended leaving a stuffed animal in the front seat to remind the driver that a youngster is in the back seat, setting an alert on e-mail, placing a phone or bag in the backseat, or setting a cellphone alert.

Two years ago, Mirlande Jean-Baptiste, 29, went to a Lake Worth salon to get pampered for her wedding that day and forgot her 4-year-old son in the car. A few hours later, her sister went to get money out of the car and found the boy. He was taken to Palms West Hospital but could not be saved.

When the safety campaign was unvealed, a Chevrolet Traverse was parked outside the hospital with the windows closed and no air conditioning on. At the end of the news conference, the car's inside temperature was 157.8 degrees.