YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - A 3-year-old boy was found dead Saturday morning, apparently victim to the harsh winter weather, on the back porch of the South Avenue home where he lived with his brothers and sisters and other relatives.

Quentin Alli's guardian, Stacey Gilmore, tells 21 News she believes he wandered into the unheated back porch in the middle of the night while the rest of the family slept, and the door closed behind him.

Police say the preliminary investigation suggests the same.

Quentin's teenage sister, Portia Alli, describes the morning: "Everybody was asleep, and when Stacey woke up she said, 'Where is Quentin?' She checked the house, the up stairs, the bathroom, and she found him laying on his face on the back porch."

Gilmore's aunt Cheryl Boudrey tells us her niece took care of Quentin and his siblings when their mother, Gilmore's cousin, couldn't.

"She loved them kids," Boudrey says. "She took them out of the system to take care of the kids, and she took good care of them."

Relatives say Gilmore was working to get custody and Portia says she likes living with her.

"Stacey gives us all hugs, tells us she loves us, and she gets us anything we want, or need," Portia says. "She is a good mom."

A total of five children have been placed in Gilmore's care  through children services. There were nine people in the home overnight.

Inside the home, Gilmore grieved for Quentin.

"God, I want you to bring him back,  I want you to bring him back," she said.

Youngstown Det. Lt. Doug Bobovnyik says it appears the family last saw the 3 year-old when everyone went to bed around 11 p.m. Friday night.

Gilmore found him at about 9 in the morning.

Bobovnyik says the investigation suggests the door shut behind the 3 year-old leaving him trapped in the unheated porch with temperatures at about 8 degrees.

An autopsy will be conducted. No word on whether charges will be filed.

Bobovynik says the investigation is in it's early stages.

Meantime the family mourns and is asking for prayers.