Halton Regional Police say a man and his four-year-old daughter have been found dead after the pair failed to return from a hike at the Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area in Milton on Sunday.
Police said the father and his daughter had arrived at the conservation area between 2:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. and were expected to be back by 5:30 p.m.
“Given the weather conditions and challenging terrain, the Halton Regional Police Service deployed significant resources including Search Incident Response Team (SIRT), the mobile command unit, front-line officers from all three districts, our K9 unit, our tactical rescue unit to search Rattlesnake Point and the surrounding area,” police said in a news release.
The bodies were discovered by officers within the conservation area at about 11:06 p.m.
In an update Monday morning, media relations Const. Ryan Anderson told reporters the man and young girl were found at the bottom of the escarpment.
“There were significant trauma on the victims that could be consistent with a fall,” Anderson said.
Anderson said the investigation is being conducted by the homicide unit due to the age of the girl. The homicide squad is called in for any death of a child under the age of five, Anderson added.
“It is not considered a homicide investigation at this time.”
However, Anderson added that police are not ruling anything out and that the investigation is still in its early stages.
Investigators said next of kin have been notified, but police have not yet released the names of the victims at this time.
Anderson said the bodies have been removed from the area and a post-mortem will be conducted.
“This is just a heartbreaking situation and when we began the search last night it’s certainly not the outcome we were looking for, it was the outcome we were dreading,” Anderson said.
Anyone who was in the park or anyone with information is asked to call police at 905-825-4776.