The first grade student, identified as Hussam Mohammed Radi, was reported missing after school on Thursday and police from Al-Salama police station immediately launched a search operation, but did not find anything until the next day.
“Forensic reports revealed that the child died from natural causes and there was nothing unusual about his death as there were no signs of violence. He probably suffocated due to the lack of air in the car,” First Lt. Nawaf Al-Bouq of Jeddah police told Arab News on Thursday.
“The car that he was found in belongs to an Egyptian man and he parked the vehicle near his friend’s house because he was out of the country, but left it unlocked.”
Radi belonged to an orphanage in Jeddah. At noon, when it was time for the students to go home, the bus driver could not find the child anywhere and immediately reported his disappearance to the orphanage.
The orphanage called the school, which sent a team to search for him in classes and halls and surrounding areas.
The search lasted for more than 13 hours until residents in the area noticed the car, which had been parked there for a long time but left unchecked.
“The car is very old and the owner is a doctor who went back to his country four months ago,” said Al-Bouq.
“The car was a Mercedes Benz covered with dust and sand parked in an open area near the school.”
The director in charge of women's supervision in Makkah province, Nora Al-Sheikh, urged police to conduct an autopsy on Radi’s body to rule out any foul play. She said the child had special needs but had never complained or suffered from any illness.
