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 Ave. 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.
âWe located the girl in the underground swimming pool where we immediately jumped in, brought her out and began CPR,â said Crawford.
A portable defibrillator was also used. BC Ambulance Services and an air ambulance was brought in, but not used.
âShe was ultimately transported to Mission Memorial Hospital where she was pronounced dead.â
Crawford said victim services are providing support to the family and everyone concerned to âhelp them through this.â
âItâs always a tough time when anyone loses a loved one, but it touches everybody particularly harder when itâs a child.â
Police officers who found the girl and were on scene are also being offered assistance.
âAgain, 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,â he said.â
âThe next steps are to ascertain exactly what happened and from there weâll assess if thereâs any culpability.â
The police are not releasing the girlâs name.
