After almost 24 hours searching a Mississauga, Ont., park for a missing three-year-old boy, police say they have discovered his body deceased in the waters of a creek.
Around 7 p.m. on Thursday, police said they were called to Erindale Park in Mississauga to help look for a missing boy named Zaid who had last been seen around 6:20 p.m.
Sgt. Jennifer Trimble told reporters at a press conference that Zaid and his family were in the park and “in a moment, he was just gone.”
On Friday evening, Supt. Josh Colley said Zaid’s body had been found in the waters of a creek in the park by searchers at 5:40 p.m.
“This is a tragedy,” Colley said, confirming that foul play was not suspected in the child’s death.
Police asked for privacy for the family and thanked those who had helped with the search, which included marine units, dive teams, local firefighters and air support.
“Our first response is to have as many officers and emergency response on scene to cover as much ground as possible,” Colley said, adding that water searches took place after night fell.
Erindale Park, where the incident took place, is located around Dundas Street and Mississauga Road. It sprawls around the edge of the University of Toronto Mississauga campus, with the Credit River running through its centre.
Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish echoed the words of police, calling the death an “incredible tragedy” for the city.
“My heart breaks for parents who have only been in Canada 2 months,” she wrote in a post on social media.
Earlier on Friday, before Zaid’s body was discovered, Global News spoke to his mother, 26-year-old Islam Adam, who said her son was playing with other children at the playground when he went missing.
“He’s lost,” she said. “Terrible shock.”
Adam said her family just recently moved to Canada from Jordan and that she is pregnant. She and her husband spent all night at the park.
— With files from Global News’ Sean O’Shea