Chief: Twins sneaked away, died in hot car while grandmother slept

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. -- An investigator says twin 2-year-old girls found dead in a hot car in southeast Missouri may have sneaked away and gone into the vehicle while their grandmother napped.

Authorities say Allannah and Alliya Larry were found dead Wednesday afternoon on a floorboard inside the car at an apartment complex in Portageville. All the cars windows were rolled up.

Autopsies on the girls were planned for Thursday, though police chief Ronnie Adams said the deaths appear heat-related.

Adams says the twins' grandmother apparently was baby-sitting while the mother ran errands. He says the children were last seen about 1:30 p.m., more than two hours before their bodies were found.

Temperatures in the area were in the upper 80s to low 90s Wednesday afternoon.