Siblings uninjured after snowy tumble into creek
A missing four-year-old girl and 11-year-old boy were found safe after falling into Grindstone Creek in the midst of a snowstorm early Tuesday morning.
Emergency crews responded to Nelson and Victoria streets in Waterdown shortly after 8:40 a.m. for reports of two children walking in a forested area near the creek.
Const. Jerome Stewart said police were alerted to the incident after a homeowner on Nelson spotted the kids behind their backyard.
“Obviously, the weather is a little bit extreme right now and they didn’t think the (children) were appropriately dressed,” he said.
Stewart said the parents of the children had already reported them missing.
Kyle Scott, whose Nelson Street property backs into the creek, said he saw the siblings spaced about 100 yards from each other through a web of trees. The boy was in bare feet, without shoes or socks, while the girl was in a dress and winter jacket with her legs exposed to the cold.
While another neighbour phoned police, Scott went down the hill leading to the ravine.
He first approached the girl because “she was alone and very little,” walking near a set of rocks.
“She didn’t seem to really know what was going on,” Scott said, adding he walked the girl up the hill and to his neighbour who awaited police arrival.
Then Scott headed back down for the boy, who was “soaking wet” across the river and lying on the train tracks.
Scott, clad in a pair of heavy boots, walked across the river and onto the track before he put the boy on his shoulders and carried him up to street level.
Hamilton Paramedic Service Supt. Dave Thompson said both siblings fell “knee deep” into the water after crossing a downed tree over the creek, which is not frozen.
The children were “a little cold,” he said, but did not sustain any injuries.
Neither child was taken to hospital.