Police not suspecting foul play in child’s death

The Ontario Provincial Police in Hawkesbury does not suspect foul play in the death of a 16-month-old child in Hawkesbury on Saturday, January 7.

Officers were called to a residence on James Street shortly after 10:20 a.m. after the child was discovered that morning in her crib without signs of life.

"What we had to do, just like in a sudden death case involving an adult, we have to investigate and determine if there was foul play involved," said Const. Pierre Dubois.

"Of course, being a child, the circumstances are more alarming because it's not normal to die, under normal circumstances."

Dubois said the area has been sealed off by police officers since Saturday morning as investigators remain on the scene. A post-mortem was scheduled for Monday, however, the OPP do not suspect foul play.

"We suspect this as being a natural death, but the cause is not determined so for now we have to investigate," said Dubois. "We've had officers there since Saturday just to supervise the scene until we get the okay from investigations of what we believe as being a natural cause."

Support and counseling is being offered to the parents and friends of the family during this time.