Updated at 5 p.m. July 3: Revised throughout with additional details.

A 2-year-old boy reported missing in Denton was found dead in a vehicle Wednesday morning.

Sarbesh Gurung (Denton Police Department)

Denton police made the announcement around 8:30 a.m., about two and a half hours after Sarbesh Gurung's body was found.

The SUV, which had sunshades, dark tint and a shade for children, was in "pretty close proximity" to where Sarbesh lived, Denton Police Chief Frank Dixon said.

It was nearly pitch black inside the SUV when a neighbor who owns the vehicle found the boy, Dixon said.

He said that the family was devastated and that the boy's mother had a panic attack when she learned her son was dead.

It is unclear how Sarbesh wound up in the SUV, Dixon said. Temperatures in Denton hovered near 93 degrees around the time he went missing.

"We don't know if the car was unlocked," Dixon said. "We just don't know."

Nearly 300 people were part of an extensive search, Dixon said, including Denton police and firefighters, University of North Texas police and dozens of volunteers.

It was unclear whether anyone had previously checked that vehicle.

"Is it reasonable to assume that we checked every car, checked every door handle? No, we can't reasonably assume that," Dixon said. "There are probably going to be questions that we never have answers for, and that's unfortunate."

Denton Police Chief Frank Dixon (second from right) talked with other law enforcement agencies near the 2400 block of West Prairie Street during the search Tuesday in Denton. (Jeff Woo / Denton Record-Chronicle)

Sarbesh's body was taken to the Tarrant County medical examiner's office for an autopsy, the chief said.

"Now is not the time to point fingers or assign blame, because we're all heartbroken," he said, adding that family members will be interviewed as part of an investigation.

There were no obvious signs of trauma on the boy's body, he said.

Sarbesh's mother called authorities about 2 p.m. Tuesday, just minutes after she realized she couldn't find Sarbesh at the family's apartment in the 2400 block of West Prairie Street, near the UNT campus.

Police said then that no foul play was suspected in the boy's disappearance.

Sarbesh's family moved to the area from Nepal in 2006 so his father could pursue a master's and doctorate at UNT, KXAS-TV (NBC5) reported.

One neighbor, Anthony Kurialacherry, remembered Sarbesh as a "very charming kid" who was always laughing, the station reported.