Investigation underway outside Ontario daycare after missing child found dead
A child was found dead after going missing from an Ontario town on Thursday night.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) received a call regarding a missing child from an address in Hamilton Township, north of Cobourg, on Thursday just before 5:20 p.m.
An OPP cruiser and police tape were seen outside of Watch Me Grow Daycare on County Road 45 in Baltimore, Ont., on Friday.
Police tape seen outside of a daycare north of Cobourg, Ont., on Thursday, May 26, 2023 (CTV News Toronto/ Corey Baird).
Greg Gotthelf, a local resident, said a woman from the daycare ran across the road asking for help in the search for a two or three-year-old child on Thursday.
“We started looking, checking our backyards, everybody. Police started showing up more, all in all a bad situation,” he said.
Then, Gotthelf said he witnessed the child’s mother in “sheer pain” as she arrived at the scene.
The child was found dead at the address they were reported missing from, OPP say. The child's cause of death is currently unknown
Police tape seen outside of a daycare north of Cobourg, Ont., on Thursday, May 26, 2023 (CTV News Toronto/ Corey Baird).
Emergency crews were seen searching a wooded area on the side of a busy country road just a few minutes north of Highway 401 in footage taken on Thursday and obtained by CTV News Toronto.
A death investigation is now underway at the address where the child was found.
Another neighbour, Pam Fessler, said the child’s sudden death has left the community in shock.
A missing child was found dead in an Ontario town east of Toronto on Thursday, May 25, 2023.
“Horrible, just horrible,” she said. “I have a two-and-a-half-year-old little niece and I couldn't imagine anything happening to her.”
The OPP’s Criminal Investigation Branch is investigating in conjunction with the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario.
“We were deeply saddened to hear about the passing of a child and off our heartfelt condolences to their family and loved ones,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Education told CTV News Toronto, adding staff are working with police and the child care centre.
The ministry said Watch Me Grow is a licensed chid care centre with no history of serious incidents.
Police say there is no threat to public safety.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
UPDATED | 16 children, 1 adult injured after falling from platform at Winnipeg's Fort Gibraltar
Seventeen people – most of whom are young students – were hospitalized after a falling from a height during a field trip at Winnipeg's Fort Gibraltar. However, many of the children are now being discharged and sent home, according to an update from the hospital.

BREAKING | Federal Court of Appeal: Canada not constitutionally obligated to bring home suspected ISIS fighters
The Government of Canada has won its appeal and will not be legally forced to repatriate four Canadian men from prisons in Northeast Syria.
What you may not have known about bladder cancer
Although bladder cancer is the fifth most common cancer in Canada, experts say there’s a significant lack of awareness surrounding whom it affects the most — statistically, men — and that the most common risk factor is smoking.
Trudeau dismisses criticism of David Johnston, as MPs to vote on him to step down
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he has confidence in David Johnston, even as the House of Commons is about to vote in favour of a motion to push him out of his job.
Canada is first to require health warnings printed on individual cigarettes
Canada will soon require health warnings to be printed directly on individual cigarettes, making it the first country to implement this kind of measure aimed at reducing tobacco usage.
Study identifies the rise and fall of lifestyle habits during pandemic
More than three years after COVID was declared a global pandemic, a new study is looking at how the international health crisis has changed the lifestyle habits of Canadians.
Ottawa sends minister to Nigeria inauguration after accusing party of terror link
A year after arguing Nigeria's ruling party is responsible for terrorist acts, the Trudeau government has sent a cabinet minister to celebrate the swearing-in of its new president.
What slowdown? Economy outperforms, raising odds of a rate hike
The Canadian economy grew faster than expected in the first three months of the year and likely expanded again in April, fuelling speculation that the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates again.
Canada saw decline in fresh fruit, vegetable availability in 2022: StatCan
Statistics Canada says fewer fresh fruits and vegetables were available to Canadians in 2022, due to factors such as ongoing supply chain issues, labour shortages and price increases.