Ottawa

Toddler drowns in the water off Wolfe Island

Ontario Provincial Police are investigating after a young girl drowned Friday morning in the St. Lawrence River near Kingston, Ont.

Unresponsive child was found in the St. Lawrence River Friday, OPP say

A patch from an officer's uniform reading OPP.
Ontario Provincial Police say a toddler has died after being found unresponsive in the St. Lawrence River near Wolfe Island on Friday morning. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)

Provincial police are investigating after a toddler drowned Friday morning in the St. Lawrence River near Kingston, Ont.

Leeds County OPP got a call around 9:30 a.m. that the toddler had been found in the river near Stoney Point Lane on Wolfe Island, according to a Saturday afternoon news release.

The young girl's family had been camping in the area at the time of the tragedy, Const. Joey Mason told CBC.

Family members and first responders immediately tried to save the young girl's life. She was taken to a regional trauma centre where she was pronounced dead at around 6 p.m., Mason said.

The girl was just shy of two years old, Mason said. OPP are not releasing her identity. 

Latest drowning death

The young girl's death is the latest in a string of fatal drownings on Ontario waterways, including two recent deaths on the Ottawa River and two more at a beach on the Lake Huron shoreline.

"If you have some pretty young kids around, make sure you have an eye on them at all times," Mason said.

"Because [it can take] just a split second and you lose track of where they are — and that can really result in a tragedy, just like this one."

Mason said the OPP had ruled out foul play in the toddler's death.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Trevor Pritchard

Assignment producer/reporter

Trevor Pritchard is the weekend assignment producer at CBC Ottawa, as well as a digital reporter and occasional newsreader. He's previously reported in Toronto, Saskatoon and Cornwall, Ont.