Major crime detectives investigating after newborn found dead in Victoria parking lot
Major crime detectives are investigating after a newborn baby was found dead in a Victoria parking lot Wednesday night.
Paramedics and Victoria police patrol officers were called to reports that a dead infant was discovered in the 700-block of Bay Street, near the Blanshard Centre shopping plaza, just before 10 p.m.
In a statement Thursday, Victoria police said investigators believe the baby was recently born, possibly in the area.
The child's mother may be in need of urgent medical care and support, police said.
Detectives with the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit, which investigates homicides and suspicious deaths, have taken over the investigation.
Several Victoria police officers, including a forensic identification team, were examining the scene outside the plaza's Subway restaurant, near the intersection of Bay and Blanshard streets, in the early morning hours Thursday.
The restaurant remained behind police tape as investigators collected items from the scene and took photographs in and around the restaurant property, including inside a restaurant bathroom.
Investigators donned white coveralls, masks and gloves to examine a pair of dumpsters and another garbage bin behind the building.
A spokesperson for Our Place Society, a homeless shelter and support centre in Victoria, said he immediately alerted his staff to be on the lookout for a woman in distress following the incident.
"I can't imagine anything much more heartbreaking," said Grant McKenzie. "My heart really goes out to everybody involved, but especially the mother."
Nicole Andrews, an outreach worker for young parents at the Cridge Centre for the Family in Victoria, called the incident "devastating."
"I'm sure that the circumstances were quite horrible for this woman to feel that was how she had to solve the situation that she found herself in," Andrews said.
"There needs to be consequences for the actions but we need to understand why it occurred and what resources she was lacking, what the situation was, before there are consequences."
Anyone with information about the baby or the whereabouts of the mother is asked to contact major crime detectives at 250-380-6211.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Foreign meddling 'did not affect' overall federal election results: inquiry report
Foreign interference by China did not affect the overall results of the 2019 and 2021 general elections won by Justin Trudeau's Liberals, a federal commission of inquiry has found.
BREAKING Police arrest 3 in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Why your airfare may be getting more expensive
Skyrocketing airfare prices are linked to heightened competition and rising food and fuel, according to the CAA.
WATCH LIVE Funeral today for broadcasting legend and voice of 'Hockey Night in Canada' Bob Cole
A funeral is being held today for hockey broadcasting legend Bob Cole in his hometown of St. John's, N.L.
Magnitude 4.8 earthquake recorded west of Vancouver Island
A 4.8-magnitude earthquake was reported west of Vancouver Island Thursday evening.
Who is Hope Hicks, longtime Trump aide who is testifying in N.Y. hush money case?
Hope Hicks, once a longtime trusted aide in Donald Trump’s inner circle, is testifying Friday in the New York hush money trial after being subpoenaed.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto incident caught on video
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
How falling for a stranger she met on a beach led this woman to ditch the U.S. for the French Riviera
Niki Benjamin, from the U.S., had travelled to a paradise island to do some soul searching, and her life ended up going in a very different direction when her dog ran up to a stranger.