TORONTO -- A father and his four-year-old daughter died after what appeared to be a fall from an escarpment in an Ontario park, police said.
Halton region police said the father and daughter, who police have not named, went for an afternoon hike at Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area in Milton, Ont. on Sunday. Their bodies were discovered at the bottom of an escarpment more than eight hours later.
The victim’s mother identified the girl as four-year-old Keira Kagan, who she described as a smart and spunky child who dreamed of making a difference.
“Keira was the absolute most special girl you could ever ask for,” her mother, Jennifer Kagan, told CTV News on Monday. “She had a shirt that said ‘I’m going to change the world’ and I believe that Kiera truly thought she could. She was that sort of girl.”
Family members have also identified the father as Robin Brown.
A team of 45 investigators were called to search for the father and daughter after police were contacted around 7:30 p.m. Police said the pair left for a hike around 2:30 p.m. and were expected to return by 5:30 p.m.
The conservation area where the bodies were found is known for its rugged terrain, including cliff-side trails. The region was hit with a mix of rain and snow on Sunday, which investigators said hampered the search.
Shortly after 11 p.m., investigators located the two bodies.
“There was significant trauma on the victims that could be consistent with a fall,” Const. Ryan Anderson said at a press conference on Monday.
“It’s certainly was not the outcome we were looking for, it’s the outcome we were dreading.”
The deaths are not considered homicides “at this time,” Anderson said. Homicide investigators are taking over the investigation, which is protocol for deaths involving a child under the age of five.
“It’s extremely early in the investigation. We’re less than 12 hours into it,” Anderson said Monday morning.
Keira’s mother said her daughter was “the most tender and sweet big sister” to her baby brother, Joseph, and she loved to dress up as a princess.
“She wanted to make a difference. She looked at what she could do with her life, and the fact that her life has been so tragically cut short is terrible,” her mother said, fighting back tears.
Keira’s stepfather, Philip Viater, said the little girl was like his own daughter.
“I always told her that her and Joseph were my number ones,” he said.
Keira was at the centre of a contentious custody battle with court dates stemming back to 2016, court documents provided by her mom and stepfather show. The family was due back in court on February 20.
The bodies were removed from the conservation area early Monday morning. Police say post-mortem examinations will be conducted.
Keira’s school, Bialik Hebrew Day School, issued a statement offering condolences to the family and alerting parents that counselling services are being made available to students.
