A 23-month-old Mission girl has died after she was found unresponsive in a backyard pool.
The toddler went missing from a daycare on Hawthorne Avenue Wednesday afternoon and was discovered a short time later in the underground pool at a neighbouring property.
The child was found under a solar blanket.
RCMP Staff Sgt. Steve Crawford said police received a 911 call from the daycare at about 4:40 p.m. reporting the toddler missing. She was last seen about 10 minutes before the call was made.
Police responded immediately and began checking the daycare and neighbouring properties.
“We located the girl in the underground swimming pool where we immediately jumped in, brought her out and began CPR,” Crawford said.
A portable defibrillator was also used. BC Ambulance Services and an air ambulance was brought in, but not used.
“She was ultimately transported to Mission Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead,” Crawford said.
He said Mission RCMP Victim Services are providing support to the family and everyone concerned to “help them through this.”
“It’s always a tough time when anyone loses a loved one, but it touches everybody particularly harder when it’s a child.”
Police officers who found the girl and were on scene are also being offered assistance.
“Again, the death of a child touches you differently than other deaths, and our members are dealing with it and we are providing them with assistance and support.”
The investigation is continuing.
“The next steps are to ascertain exactly what happened and, from there, we’ll assess if there’s any culpability,” Crawford said.
The police are not releasing the girl’s name.
