Man Charged with Manslaughter After 7-Month-Old Boy Drowns While Camping — Suspect Was Known to the Child, Police Say

A 42-year-old man has been charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of a baby boy who was found “unresponsive” in a lake in Queensland, Australia.

The 7-month-old baby boy was found unresponsive at a park off Gympie Curra Road near the small town of Chatsworth, where he had been staying overnight with his parents, at around 10:40 a.m. local time on Saturday, July 12. He had drowned, according to Queensland Police.

A man known to the child was arrested in the Brisbane suburb of Bundamba, more than 124 miles south of the campsite, on Tuesday, July 15, the police confirmed in a statement on Tuesday, July 15. He was charged with manslaughter (domestic violence), the release added.

The man is due to appear at Ipswich Magistrates Court on Wednesday, July 26. The suspect and child have not been identified at this time.

The infant had been staying at a campsite around 164 feet from the water at the park with his parents on Saturday, before they planned to travel back to their home in north Queensland, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported.

The child was pulled from the lake by his mother, local outlet 7News reported. Campers performed CPR on the baby boy until paramedics arrived, per 9News and ABC. The baby was then transported to Gympie Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, according to police. 

Several campers who were staying in the area at the time have been questioned by police.

“They picked us up, they took us in couple by couple, they brought us back. That’s all, so we’re just waiting,” camper Anthony Ellul told ABC .”The police won’t say anything to us because, of course, it’s an ongoing investigation at this time, but we know that the child has passed away … It broke my heart so much.”

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Wide Bay-Burnett police Detective Inspector Craig Mansfield previously said, per ABC, “There’s missing parts leading into [the death] that we need to try to establish. We’ve got some support from the child trauma unit and homicide investigation group working with the local detectives.”

“We’ve had a lot of campers staying there overnight and we’ve also had a lot of people popping in to use the facilities and the park,” Inspector Mansfield continued. “We’re aware that some people have left at the time of the drowning of this infant child.” 

ABC initially reported that the baby boy’s death was not being treated as suspicious. The local child trauma unit and homicide investigation squad are supporting detectives with their investigation.

Police are continuing to urge anyone with any information on the incident to contact them on Policelink.

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PEOPLE has reached out to the Wide Bay-Burnett Police for comment but did not immediately hear back.