Autopsy reveals missing boy, 11, drowned
Hamilton police say they believe the death of an 11-year-old boy with disabilities who was the subject of an Amber Alert over the weekend was an accident.
The body of Finnigan Danne, who suffered from a neuromuscular disorder and had limited mobility, was found Sunday afternoon in a culvert not far from his home in the west Hamilton community of Dundas.
An autopsy was conducted Monday and the cause of the boy’s death was determined to be drowning.
Police say officers and neighbourhood volunteers had searched the area where the culvert — a storm sewer under the roadway — was located but had not initially spotted the body because it was submerged in the water.
The body was found during a later police search.
Finnigan went missing from his home Saturday morning, and police reported that he had been found dead Sunday evening.
Staff Sgt. Marty Schulenberg said a police officer had to physically go into the culvert to confirm that they had found Finnigan, more than 24 hours after he went missing.
“The visibility is very poor, even with flashlights. The visibility is very limited.
“Even when Finnigan was located, it was difficult to determine, at first, whether or not we had located his body,” he said.
Hamilton police Det. Dave Brady said the boy wandered away from his house without his mother’s knowledge.
He said there was a previous incident where Finnigan had gone missing, and was later found hiding.
“How he ended up in the culvert, it would seem that he probably crawled in there as a young boy who likes to hide,” Brady said.
He said investigators initially believed they would be able to find Finnigan near his home, and they decided to issue an Amber Alert after the search turned up nothing.
Amber Alerts are typically used in suspected cases of child abduction.
“The investigation is fluid, it is reconsidered at all time and we consider all possibilities,” Brady said.
Police do not suspect any foul play in the boy’s death, and call it a “tragedy.”