A child was found dead Saturday afternoon on the shore in New Waterford, N.S.
Cape Breton Regional Police say they responded to a report of a missing autistic child in New Waterford.
The mother of the child noticed the child had left their residence through a kitchen window.
The body was discovered in the water below a cliff at the end of Convent Street.
Gerald Coady, the deputy chief of the New Waterford Volunteer Fire Department, said emergency services went to the waterfront on Saturday around 2:30 p.m. AT after receiving a report that a child had gone over the cliff.
Coady said the child was male and about six years old.
Darren O’Quinn, the municipal councillor for the area, said he was in New Waterford for the town’s Coal Dust Festival when he heard the news.
He said it is a tragic event for the town and everyone will rally around the child’s family.
“When one person is hurting in our town, the whole town is hurting,” O’Quinn said.
“Whatever we can do to help that family, that’s what we’re here for.”
He said the parade and fireworks that were planned as part of the festival for Sunday have been cancelled.
New Waterford is roughly 20 kilometres northeast of Sydney.
