Police have released new details about the death of a two-year-old boy that was discovered at Soper Park early Monday morning.
According to the director of corporate affairs for Waterloo Regional Police Services, Cherri Greeno, the boy and his mother were walking around the park before dawn when at some point they were separated.
“We received a call around 6 a.m. and the mother was at the park with her son and at some point, her son went missing,” said Greeno. “When police arrived at the park they were able to conduct a search and found him in and around a body of water.”
Throughout Monday morning, police could be seen using forensics technology to map out the terrain near the stream that runs through the park.
Greeno added that police are now awaiting results from a postmortem to determine the circumstances that led to the boy’s death.
The major crimes unit is currently leading the investigation, but police will not confirm if they are investigating the boy’s death as suspicious.
“We’re hoping we can determine a cause of death and that will assist in the investigation, but right now it’s simply a tragedy and our thoughts are with the family,” said Greeno.
“I know people have a lot of questions, but with this sensitive of an investigation, we have to be respectful of the family. More details will come out as we learn more.”
Soper Park was closed for the majority of Monday due to the investigation with parkgoers offering prayers and condolences to the family.
The City of Cambridge also shared its thoughts on the situation in a social media post saying they were “shocked and saddened by the tragic death of a child at Soper Park.”
Police are continuing to investigate and no arrests have been made at this time.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 519-570-9777.
Anonymous tips can be provided to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.waterloocrimestoppers.com.
