Laval police said the body of a one-month-old baby boy who went missing in a river off the northern shore of Laval, Que. has been found.
Police divers found the baby’s body late Monday morning in the Rivière des Mille Îles after the child’s mother’s vehicle plunged into the water last Friday afternoon.
The 40-year-old mother and a second child survived the incident, but the woman’s newborn boy had been missing for the past three days.
Police have so far been unable to speak to the mother due to her condition, said Laval police spokesperson Geneviève Major. The police investigation is still ongoing.
The mother has been recovering in hospital in critical condition since the incident, while the other child, a four-year-old girl, has been released from hospital into the care of her father.
Police located the missing boy’s remains near the spot where the family vehicle was found partially submerged.
The tragic discovery comes after the third day of searching by police and firefighter crews in the river which was called off twice Friday and Saturday evenings as officers lost daylight. The 42-kilometre Mille Iles river divides Laval from the North Shore.
POLICE USED PUMPKINS IN SEARCH FOR BOY
Laval police had about 20 officers lead the search for the missing boy with about as many officers from the Sûreté du Québec in what proved to be a challenging water rescue.
“The baby is small and it’s inside the water. It’s really not clear so it makes the search very difficult for the people that were helping on the scene. The current also caused some difficulty,” said Stephanie Beshara, another spokesperson for Laval police.
Beshara said police threw pumpkins about the same size as the baby into the water to examine where the current would take it.
Some nearby residents felt compelled to join the desperate search for the boy as dive teams meticulously canvassed the waters.
Police did not say how the mother’s vehicle veered off the road and there are also unanswered questions whether the baby was in a car seat or not.
This is a developing story. More to come.
