GREENFIELD — A toddler was found dead in her Greenfield home Thursday morning, prompting a police investigation into what might have caused the child’s death.
Greenfield police received a 911 call after a 1-year-old girl, whose name has not been released, was found unresponsive in a home in the 500 block of Wood Street in Greenfield just after 9 a.m.
Greenfield police officers who responded to the call for help attempted to revive the child but were unsuccessful.
She was transported to Hancock Regional Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, Greenfield Police Chief John Jester said.
Jester declined to comment on the condition of the child’s body. She had no history of medical issues and had not been ill recently, but Jester would not say whether the death was being investigated as a homicide.
“We do all of our investigations completely; we never call them that until we know for sure,” Jester said.
Police were still at the home late Thursday, taking photographs of the scene and interviewing potential witnesses, Jester said.
It was a difficult day not just for family members but first-responders who rushed to the scene hoping to save the little girl, he said.
“It’s tragic any time a kid’s involved; you have family members that have to be consoled; you have officers and EMS personnel that have to be consoled, and we still have a job to do to find out why this baby passed away,” he said.
Jester said several people were home at the time of the toddler’s death but could not confirm their relationships to the child.
No suspects had been taken into custody at press time.
Police said they hope an autopsy, expected to be performed today, will shed light on what happened in the girl’s final moments.
“Law enforcement takes any death with an infant very seriously,” Jester said. “It’s our goal to be compassionate to the family and to find all the possible answers that are available.”