LYNN — The death of a 4-month-old boy who was found not breathing in a homeless shelter last September is being investigated as a possible child endangerment case, according to court documents obtained by the Globe. Those records show that during the child’s short life, he repeatedly came to the attention of state child welfare authorities.

Employees at the Lynn homeless shelter made two or three earlier reports about Charles D. Brand III to the state Department of Children and Families. Two shelter workers who spoke with a State Police investigator said they had believed the agency would take custody of the baby, according to an affidavit filed in Lynn District Court.

The affidavit was written by State Police Sergeant Robert C. LaBarge Jr., who sought search warrants for the family’s apartment at the homeless shelter and for the mother’s shelter records. He wrote that the searches were needed to look for evidence of reckless endangerment of a child, court records show.

In the affidavit, LaBarge wrote that one shelter employee said the infant’s mother, Laci Brand, also known as Laci Kirk, “would often times leave [b]aby Charles unattended for long periods,’’ an accusation she denies. Another worker tracked the absences in a log, LaBarge said.

The boy, known as Charlie, was pronounced dead at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston at 5:17 p.m. Sept. 27, 2015, less than 24 hours after an employee at the shelter named Independence House called 911.

More than eight months later, his cause of death remains unknown. His paternal grandmother, Roshelle Henson, said she worries he will be forgotten.

“He was a beautiful baby boy,’’ said Henson, 54, who lives in Alexandria, N.H. “I just feel like I need answers. I can’t just let it go.’’

LaBarge’s affidavit is part of the investigation into the infant’s death by the Essex district attorney’s office. No charges have been filed, a spokeswoman said. The child’s autopsy is pending, his death certificate shows. DCF is also reviewing the case, a spokeswoman said.

The agency had received a report about the child’s welfare from the shelter as recently as a week before he was found unresponsive, the affidavit said.

The reports made to DCF are known as 51As and are submitted in cases of suspected child abuse or neglect.

In an e-mail to the Globe, Brand, 22, said Charlie was asleep 15 minutes before she found him not breathing and with blood coming from his nose.

She said a doctor from Mass. General told her Charlie died of sudden infant death syndrome.

“There was no sign of foul play nor were there any signs as to what took my little [b]oy’s life,’’ Brand wrote. “Every day without him, I die a little more inside.’’

During the 911 call made after Charlie was found unresponsive, Brand can be heard wailing in the background and yelling: “He’s not breathing! Oh my God!’’

According to the court documents, Dr. Karla Fredricks, who examined Charlie at MassGeneral for Children at North Shore Medical Center in Salem, said the child had no physical signs of trauma but his pupils showed no brain activity, the affidavit said.

The document also noted food was seen on Charlie’s vocal chords. Charlie had been getting water, fruit sauce, and formula, his mother told police.

According to LaBarge’s document, Brand’s speech was “noticeably slurred’’ when she spoke to investigators at the Salem hospital, and she had admitted to drinking alcohol.

Brand said she drank a small amount of alcohol and called it a “poor decision on my part.’’

“I do not believe that it impaired my ability to care for my son,’’ she said.

Charlie was later taken by helicopter to Mass. General in Boston, where he died, as his aunt, Sam Brand, said she cradled him and sang “You Are My Sunshine.’’

On the night Charlie was hospitalized, LaBarge said, he spoke with two shelter employees who looked “dismayed and upset.’’

The court documents show they relayed conversations they said they had with Brand.

Shelter worker Aisha Ramsay said Brand “made the statement that she left Charlie because he was not entertaining for her or not interesting,’’ according to the affidavit. In her e-mail to the Globe, Brand denied making the comment.

Ramsay’s colleague, Kathy Thomas, described Brand as saying “she didn’t want to be around the baby because she was depressed,’’ and she feared Charlie would sense that, the document said.

A third shelter worker, Joilma Veloz, who called 911, said the staff had offered to let Brand keep a portable crib in the homeless shelter’s office “because she was so inattentive,’’ LaBarge wrote. Donna Jones, the shelter property director, told investigators that when employees confronted Brand about her lack of attention to her son, Brand became “verbally abusive,’’ an allegation she disputes.

DCF declined to make Commissioner Linda S. Spears available for an interview and declined to answer questions about the case. In a statement, an agency spokeswoman said DCF cannot disclose specifics of the case because of state and federal confidentiality requirements.

Tom Colligan, interim executive director of the Lynn Shelter Association, which runs Independence House, described what happened as an isolated incident.

“We have an outstanding track record,’’ he said. “This is one of those things that occurs that is outside of our control.’’

Brand described her time at the shelter as a difficult period in which she and her husband, Charles Brand, were fighting, and she had several run-ins with staff about what she called “unjustified’’ concerns about Charlie’s care.

She said the shelter initially contacted DCF after a worker confronted Brand when Charlie was found napping alone during a room inspection. The baby had just fallen asleep when the inspection occurred, said Brand, who said she purchased baby monitors after the incident.

Charlie’s 24-year-old father said in an interview that he and Laci met three times with a DCF representative.

During the third meeting, Charles Brand said, he broke down and told the worker that his relationship with Laci had deteriorated and that he wanted to leave the shelter.

The worker suggested the couple separate and share custody of the baby, Charles Brand said. A few days later, he said, he left the shelter and was not there when his son was found not breathing. He estimated Charlie died less than two weeks after he moved out.

Charles Brand said he wanted to take Charlie with him but believed Laci and shelter workers would interfere. He said he has no contact with his wife, though they remain married.

“I feel guilty and selfish,’’ Charles Brand said. “I did want to take him with me.’’

The medical examiner’s office said it could not predict how long it might take to determine Charlie’s cause of death and declined to comment further.

Some death investigations require testing or consultation with outside experts, said Felix Browne, a spokesman.

Charlie is buried in Pine Grove Cemetery in Lynn. His grave marker calls him “our little angel.’’

Laura Crimaldi can be reached at laura.crimaldi@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @lauracrimaldi.