- Seven-month-old drowned at Chatsworth Park
- It’s a popular camping and stopover spot
- New allegations about what happened emerge online
A police investigation into the tragic drowning of a seven-month-old baby boy at a popular camping spot has been rocked by allegations that he was thrown into the water.
Emergency responders raced to the scene at Chatsworth Park near Gympie, Queensland at about 10.30am on Saturday following multiple triple-0 calls about a baby found unresponsive in a nearby lake.
The boy’s mother made the grim discovery and pulled him out of the water, which was just 40 metres from the family’s campsite.
She and fellow holidaymakers performed CPR on the baby, who was rushed to Gympie Hospital, where he later died.
The baby and his parents had camped overnight at the park on their way home in North Queensland.
Police investigating the circumstances of the baby’s ‘unexplained’ death have urged anyone who was at the campground an hour before and after the tragedy to come forward.
The public appeal sparked an outpouring of emotion of the Queensland Police Facebook page, where several posts claimed that alleged witnesses had seen the baby thrown into the lake by a man.
Police responded by urging those making the allegations to come forward or contact Policelink.
Investigations continue into how seven-month-old baby drowned at a campground near Gympie on Saturday
Police are investigating claims that the baby was allegedly thrown into the lake at the campsite
The baby’s parents are assisting police with inquiries.
Queensland Police confirmed to Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday that it’s investigating the allegations posted online and that the probe into the baby’s death is ongoing.
No arrests have been made or charges have been laid.
A section of the campsite remained cordoned off as a crime scene on Monday.
Officers from the Child Trauma Unit and the Homicide Investigation Team are assisting with the investigation.
A post-mortem has since been carried out.
The tragedy has raised questions about how the baby ended up in the water, which police have refused to speculate on.
‘We’re treating it as unexplained, that’s probably the best term I can use at this point in time,’ Wide Bay Detective Inspector Craig Mansfield told reporters on Monday.
An investigation into the baby’s tragic death is ongoing, police revealed on Tuesday
Police are investigating the ‘unexplained’ tragedy with the assistance from the homicide team
‘We’re trying to work out the mechanisms of how that occurred.
‘We have part of the picture, we just want to complete that full picture before we decide on where that investigation leads us.’
Chatsworth Park is a popular free camping and stopover spot off the Bruce Highway, a major route between Brisbane and Far North Queensland.
It’s also a common spot for the homeless, police confirmed.
‘We have information that other vehicles were parked up in the rest stop area,’ Insp Mansfield said.
‘They either left just prior or during – we just don’t know until we speak to them.
‘There were a couple of vehicles that left the scene who may or may not have seen or heard anything, but we just need to track them down in case they did.’
Police urge anyone who was at the campground (pictured on Monday) an hour before or after the tragedy to come forward
