WATCH: Port Alberni RCMP say they’re treating the death of a six-year-old boy in Port Alberni earlier this month as suspicious.They’re not saying why but are asking the public for help to advance the case. Kendall Hanson has more.
RCMP said Wednesday morning the death of a six-year-old boy in Port Alberni earlier this month is being treated as suspicious and the investigation is ongoing.
Port Alberni RCMP and the B.C. Coroner’s Service responded to child’s death March 13.
Officers went to a Port Alberni home around 9:30 a.m. that morning to reports of a boy in medical distress.
The boy was rushed to the hospital and did not survive.
“It’s a pretty fresh deep wound right now and I think there are a lot of people that are mourning,” Andrew Callicum, vice-president of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, said.
Richard Lucas, a family spokesperson, last saw the boy during Hesquiat Days.
“He was a very happy young fella up there and he got along with other children and he seemed to care for other children,” Lucas said.
RCMP is asking for any assistance from the public in their investigation.
“We are imploring anyone who has any information about this tragic death or who?ve since learned anything that may help investigators, to do the right thing and come forward,” Port Alberni RCMP Cpl. Amelia Hayden said in a release.
Hayden says no further information will be released to “respect the integrity of the investigation going forward.”
Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call Port Alberni RCMP or Crime Stoppers.
The Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council is also asking the community to help with the investigation.
“A lot of questions [are] up in the air,” Callicum said. “You know the police are asking for help and I hope by working with them, by supporting their request, that people are encouraged to come forward.”
Investigators at a home in Port Alberni March 14 following the death of a six-year-old child. RCMP announced Wednesday morning the death is being treated as suspicious. File photo.
Andy Neal
