A criminal investigation has been launched into how a toddler rushed to a Queensland hospital died, with her parents devastated by one detail.
The family of a two-year-old girl was pronounced dead after being taken to a hospital in Mackay, Queensland, have been left traumatised by reports she was dumped there.
The horror scene sparked a criminal investigation after the dead toddler was taken to Mackay Base Hospital around 8.30pm on Thursday.
An autopsy will be conducted to establish cause of death.
Detectives investigating the death of a two-year-old girl confirmed she was unwell in the days before she was rushed to ED.
But Mackay Detective Acting Inspector Chris Eaton said on Friday he could not yet confirm if the child had died from an illness or injury until the autopsy was concluded.
Staff at the hospital were reportedly “extremely” concerned about the situation before contacting police.
A family friend told The Daily Mercury the child’s father, Adam Hanbury, had rushed to hospital after learning his unwell daughter had been taken to the emergency department.
Mr Hanbury and his wife Jessica had five children, with their two-year-old daughter the youngest sibling.
Their family friend, who asked not to be named, told the Daily Mercury on Saturday the couple had spent Friday in tears.
“The father was at work when he was told his baby girl had been taken to hospital … he didn’t have a car so he borrowed mine and rushed to the hospital where his wife was,” he said.
“I drove them home at 3am.”
The friend said reports the child had been dumped at the hospital were incorrect.
“They were crying and didn’t think this situation could be worse,” he said.
Acting Inspector Eaton the cause of the child’s death was still unknown.
“As part of the investigation, we’ve identified the child had been unwell in the days leading up to her death and that will certainly form part of our investigations,” Acting Inspector Eaton said.
“The death of a child, any child, under any circumstances, is incredibly traumatic.
“This family have lost a two-year-old child. The pain and suffering they must be going through at this particular moment in time would be unbearable.
“We don’t know the cause of death; that is something we will investigate.
“A post mortem will be conducted in the coming days and that will give us further evidence in relation to the cause of the child’s death.
“As part of our normal routine investigations, police conduct an examination of the family home.
“We expect that to take some time and that will help the police investigation and the coroner in determining the cause of death.”
No charges have been laid at this stage.
“We’re in the very early stages of the investigation,” acting Inspector Eaton said.
“The family have gone through a very traumatic event.
“We are very mindful of the situation the family finds themself in.
“But under the direction of the coroner, we will investigate what has occurred in the lead-up, and in particular the causation of the child’s death.
“At this stage, we’re just looking at how this child has come to die.”
Acting Inspector Eaton said family and friends will be assisting with their investigation into the sudden death.
“They are in the best position to assist us. Our conversations and our focus is dealing with the family and also people known to the family,” he said.
Acting Inspector Eaton said any child’s death has a lasting impact on both the community and the officers involved in the investigation.
“A lot of investigators are parents; we understand the pain of children being ill and, god forbid, child (dying),” he said.
“It (has) a traumatic effect not only on family members and the community but the police who are also called to investigate.”
Police will liaise with the Department of Child Safety and other agencies “as a matter of course” through their investigation. The Queensland Department for Children did not disclose whether the child or the child’s family was known to them.
“The death of any child is a tragedy and our hearts go out to the child’s family, friends and community,” a Department of Children spokesman told NCA NewsWire on Friday.
“The Child Protection Act prevents us from disclosing publicly whether an individual or family is known or not to the department.”
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