A frantic search for a missing two-year-old boy in southern Quebec ended tragically when he was found in a water-filled ditch.
Dawson Lacroix was reported missing around 6 p.m. Friday in the town of Waterloo. He had been playing outside while his dad washed the car, said CTV News.
The disappearance prompted a large operation involving provincial police, citizen volunteers, a helicopter and canine unit.
Lacroix was discovered almost five hours after he was last seen, said police.
“He was found by police officers in a ditch where there was water and it was near the house where he was the last time seen,” Sûreté du Québec spokeswoman Melanie Dumaresq told CTV News.
The toddler was found unconscious and was pronounced dead in hospital.
"There's not really any way to explain how everybody's doing. It's pretty silent right now, not many things are being said and it's just a bad day," Bruce Judge, a cousin of Dawson's father, Marc Lacroix, told CBC.
There will be an inquest to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident southeast of Montreal.
Police said at this point, the parents are not facing any charges, reported CJAD.
With files from The Canadian Press