Twin toddlers were found dead in Oklahoma after a “trusted” relative left them in a parked car for hours as temperatures rose to well above 90 degrees, their family said.

The 2-year-old girls, Ariel and Avery, were found dead Thursday after the unidentified relative realized they’d left them in the back of a vehicle when they were supposed to have dropped them off at day care in Norman, their dad, Marshall Suter, told KFOR.

Ariel and Avery twins smiling in photo
Ariel and Avery, 2, were found in the back of an SUV on Thursday afternoon in Norman, Oklahoma.Family Handout
“They were the best girls the world has ever seen,” the grieving dad said. “It honestly hurts because the girls were so deeply loved and cared for.”

The girls were confirmed dead at the scene, Norman police said. “The initial investigation indicates that the two children were accidentally left in the vehicle for an extended period of time and were later located by family,” the department said, without identifying who had left them.

The deaths are still under investigation, police said, without mentioning whether charges are expected.

Temperatures in Norman, a town just west of the University of Oklahoma campus, reached 90 degrees that day, National Weather Service data show.

Oklahoma News 4 image of car in street
The parents of the twins say they left their children in the care of a trusted family member that day, according to KFOR.KFOR


“They were the best girls the world has ever seen,” said dad Marshall Suter.GoFundMe
The twins’ tragic deaths appear to be the first heat-related car deaths of the year to occur in Oklahoma, according to Fox Weather.

The final cause of death has still yet to be determined by a medical examiner, police said.

Image of memorial for twins with onesies and flowers
The twins’ tragic deaths appear to be the first heat-related car deaths of the year in Oklahoma.Marshall Suter
A GoFundMe has been started by a cousin of Suter, Kourtney Usey, to help with funeral costs and help the parents cope with “the most traumatic news any parent could ever receive.”

“No one truly knows the pain of losing a child until you are going through it. I know this mom and dad are going through it. We would be so grateful and appreciative of any help received and may God bless you all for your kindness,” Usey wrote.