Newborn's remains found in North York park

TORONTO - The “lower half” of a newborn was found in a storm drain in a North York park Monday, according to Toronto Police.

Det. Nick Nei, of 31 Division, said the remains found at Heathrow Park, in the Jane St.-Wilson Ave. area, seem to be that of an infant less than a month old.

City workers dispatched to clean the drain made the grisly discovery just after 9 a.m. Ontario’s coroner had completed an on-scene investigation by late Monday afternoon.

“What I’m hearing is that it is half of a child ... the lower half,” said Const. Victor Kwong, adding that homicide investigators are monitoring the situation closely.

Nei told media gathered at the scene that investigators have little to go on so far and will be looking to the public for help.

“Look around to your friends and neighbours, people you may know, people you may have come across (who) may have been pregnant or had a child and you don’t see that child or you haven’t seen that child yet,” said Nei, adding that the dead baby’s mother may “need some help.”

He urged anyone with information to contact officers at 31 Division.

Nei said the search area will include a creek that runs from Exbury Rd. to Wilson Ave. and all the sewer pipes that feed into the park drain where the child’s remains were found.

Nei acknowledged that the remains could have washed into the park’s drain from another location. He also said the drain was last cleaned two weeks ago, and that it is possible the body part could have been there since then.

Nei could not confirm the gender, ethnicity, or exact age of the child, explaining there was dirt and debris covering the infant’s remains.

These details, he said, will be determined through ongoing forensic investigation.

Kwong said that by late afternoon, York Region Police had lent a hand by bringing in dogs to find a “scent trail to see where it originated.”

According to the City of Toronto, Heathrow Park is a 2.2-hectare park that features two playgrounds, a splash pad, a walking path, and “open green space.”
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