Baby boy found lifeless in lake 50 metres from where family camped

A seven-month-old boy could not be revived after he was found unresponsive in a lake about 50 metres from where his family was camping at a rest stop north of Brisbane.

The baby boy, whose death is under police investigation, was pulled from the water by his mother about 10.40am on Saturday.

The family had been camping at a well-known rest stop in Gympie’s Chatsworth Park, off Gympie-Curra Road, on their way home to north Queensland.

A baby boy was found unresponsive in a lake in Chatsworth Park in Gympie on Saturday morning.Credit: Google Maps

The baby was rushed by ambulance to hospital, where he was declared dead that night.

Detective Inspector Craig Mansfield said the baby’s mother had retrieved him from the water, and others at the scene had given him CPR while waiting for emergency services to arrive.

“It’s been a very traumatic experience for her, clearly,” Mansfield said.

“The family were passing through – they were just staying there overnight and tragically this incident has happened the following morning.”

Mansfield said the family had set up a campsite 40 to 50 metres from the water’s edge, and had stayed one night.

Police launched an investigation at the weekend and appealed for information on Monday.

Mansfield said the incident was being treated as an “unexplained death” as of Monday morning, but the child trauma unit, homicide investigation group and local detectives were involved in the investigation.

He said several people had called triple-zero on Saturday morning, and police had yet to determine whether the child’s parents had a history of mental health issues or domestic violence.

Both parents remained in Gympie on Monday while the investigation continued.

In a statement police said: “The mother and father of the child are assisting police with inquiries.”

No persons of interest had been identified or taken into custody, Mansfield said.

“We’re just missing parts leading into [the infant’s death] that we need to try and establish and square away,” he said.

Detective Inspector Craig Mansfield said the infant’s family had spent the night at the rest stop.Credit: Google Maps

Mansfield asked anyone who had been at the park between 9am and 11am on Saturday to come forward.

“We’ve had a lot of campers staying there overnight, and we’ve also had a lot of people just popping in to use the facilities and also the parks, so we’re aware that some people have left shortly [after] or thereabouts at the time of this drowning,” Mansfield said.

He added police had spoken to several people, but maintained everyone officers had interviewed were “just witnesses”.

Mansfield said some people spent more than one night in the park, but he could not confirm whether anyone lived on the grounds.

“I haven’t drilled into whether they’re homeless or not, the people that reside there,” he said.

A post-mortem was scheduled for 8.30am on Monday.

Chatsworth Park sits along the Old Bruce Highway, now renamed Gympie-Curra Road, about two hours north of Brisbane.

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