Two-year-old found dead in well after wandering away from daycare

Police are investigating the toddler’s death

Graig Graziosi
Monday 29 May 2023 22:30 BST
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A toddler died in Coburg, Ontario, after she wandered away from a daycare and fell into an open well, according to her family.

The parents of two-year-old Vienna Rose Irwin began a frantic search on Thursday after they arrived at the Watch Me Grow Day Care in Coburg to pick up their daughter, but found her missing.

Local police joined in on the search, scouring the nearby woods and ditches while searching for the missing girl.

The search ultimately ended in tragedy when the girl's body was discovered in a nearby well approximately an hour after their search began.

First responders pulled the girl from the well and began CPR. She was transported to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The OPP investigative agency is probing the incident, according to Global News.

Ericka Stapleton, who established a GoFundMe for the girls' parents Claire and Clayton Irwin, said the toddler "passed away and gained her angel wings in a way parents only think about in nightmares."

“She was the most beautiful and sweetest little girl and in her short time here on Earth touched so many. This tragic and sudden loss has rocked the Irwin family and everyone in our small community," she wrote.

The GoFundMe has raised more than $115,000 as of Monday afternoon.

The campaign's organiser said the parents were declining to comment on the incident for the time being.

“So many of you have reached out to share your messages of love, strength and condolences — I can assure you that each and every one of your messages mean so much to the Irwin family," Ms Stapleton wrote. "They are all so very overwhelmed and stricken with grief that they may not be able to answer any texts, messages or phone calls at this time.”

The girl's funeral will be held Thursday.

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