A 37-year-old woman and her 6-month-old baby were found dead on Saturday afternoon in the Parc des Chutes de Rivière-du-Loup area.
It was passersby who made the macabre discovery around 1:45 p.m. “A group of five girls were the first to see the body. They immediately contacted 9-1-1,” confirms Stéfany Dubé, a resident of Rivière-du-Loup who was on site.
Emergency services were first called for a rescue. The park, which is one of the busiest places in Rivière-du-Loup for the outdoors, was quickly evacuated.
Investigators from the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) were dispatched to the scene and access to the park was closed. “It could be a voluntary gesture,” said Stéphane Tremblay, spokesperson for the SQ.
The bodies were found at the bottom of the northern cliff of Parc des Chutes. The top of this cliff, which is about 40 meters high, is protected by fences to avoid unfortunate gestures. The place is known for ice climbing enthusiasts in the winter season.
“It was heavy”
An hour before the tragedy, Stéfany Dubé who was taking a walk with her daughter in the Parc des Chutes came across a mother with a baby in a stroller who seemed exhausted
“It really hit us. She looked tired, it was heavy […] The baby was squirming in the stroller, ”says the one who could not imagine that she would see the mother and the toddler, both dead a few moments later.
“I saw her from the top of the catwalk. It was a horrific scene,” she says.
Witnesses also mentioned to the Journal that the stroller was abandoned in a path before the mother reached the top of the cliff.
The investigation was entrusted to the investigation department of crimes against the person of the SQ.