CORONIAL ENQUIRY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIII, Issue 446, 11 July 1922, Page 5

CORONIAL ENQUIRY.

SAD DEATH OF INFANT GIRL,

FORMAL VERDICT RETURNED.

An inquest touching the of Kathleen Viola Robinson (known as Sullivan), the two-year-old child who wahejered away from the homo of her parents at Terraco End on Friday, and whose body was found on Saturday afternoon in a drain, was bold this morning before the district coroner, Mr A. J. Graham. Sergeant Manley conducted the proceedings. James Eddy Hocking, of 38 Pahiatua street, farm manager, said that oq 1' rid ay, July 7, he was riding along Munson street on a horse at 11 a.m. He saw a little child, about two years’ old, and she was crying. Her eyes wore very red and she was apparently in distress. Witness spoke to the child and asked her what was the matter, but she did not answer and kept on walking along the street. Witness thought the child belonged to the residents of one of the houses in the immediate vicinity. He never thought for one moment that the child was lost. The body of the child had been viewed by witness and lie identified it as that of_ the little gut to whom lie referred. It did not occur to witness at the time that it would bo a wise plan to put the child in a place of safety. , . ... Ralph Henry Emerson Robinson said ho was the father of the deceased child, and lip was known in business by the name of Sullivan. He was a plumber, residing at No. 19 Limbrick street. The child was two years of ago. On Friday morning she was missed from her homo at about 10.1 a o’clock. Two other children of witness s family had gone to a shop along the street. A little after 10 o’clock witness s wife asked him if lie had seen the baby. When witness said he had not his wife was not alarmed, since she thought the child was with the other two children. On the return of tho latter, however, witness’s wife became alarmed, and witness took a bicycle and began to search for the child. He never relinquished his search from that moment till the body was found. At about 1 p.m. witness returned to Ids homo and intimated to the police on the telephone that his child was missing. Witness continued his search, assisted by Detective-Sergeant Quirke. “No one could have worked better or harder than tills officer,” said witness, “and ho gave very groat assistance. The neighbours also responded loyally and helped with the search.” Detective-Sergeant Quirke accompanied witness in a house-to-houso enquiry in Church street, whilst others were enquiring in the streets of the vicinity. The search was continued on Saturday and tho body was eventually found in a drain. Witness was well satisfied that everything possible bail been done to locate tho child by the police and public alike. Frederic Jennings, of Western avenue, said lie started to search for the deceased child at 1 p.m. on Saturday, in company with another man named Wrobel. Witness searched down tho river from Ruahine street and thou worked up tho river. Afterwards he worked tho adjoining paddocks to the terrace. At about 2,45 p.m. witness found the laxly of the child in a six foot drain. There were about seven inches of water in the drain, mid the body was lying on its right side, the mouth and nose being under the surface of the water. There were indications that tho child had climbed through a wire fence and fallen into the drain. The child, when found, was apparently dead, and witness left the body undisturbed. Ho then made all haste to the home of the parents—about a mile away—to notify the police. Sergeant Manley adduced evidence concerning the exhaustive enquiries made by the police iu connection with the search. On tho evening of Friday Detective-Ser-geant Quirke had a notice intimating that the child was lost Hashed upon the various picture show .screens. Next morning a party of constables searched all the adjacent paddocks and water holes, and also the river banks. During the afternoon all efforts were made to locate the child. When Mr Jennings informed witness of tho discovery of the body, witness and Constable Hooker proceeded to the spot where tho body lay. It was quite obvious that life was extinct, and the body was removed to the morgue, where witness made an examination. There were no marks or signs of any violence, all the indications pointing to a supposition that the child accidentally fell into tho drain and was drowned.

Dr. Hunter Will deposed that he examined the body on Sunday. There were no external marks of violence. The appearance of the body was consistent with death by drowning. The appearance and condition of the child’s skin showed that the body had been immersed in water for a considerable lime—probably 24 hours. THE VERDICT. In returning a formal verdict, the coroner said it was a simple but very pathetic story of a young child straying away and finally falling into a drain in which there was sufficient water for her to drown. Everything possible had been done both by the police and the public generally, and the circumstances showed how the utmost vigilance should bo exercised over the movements of young children. it also pointed to the necessity of people observing wandering young children, and that such children should be conveyed to it place of safety. Steps should be taken immediately in such a case to ascertain to whom a wandering child belonged, although in tins case there was no blame attachable to anyone. The verdict would bo that the deceased was accidentally drowned on July 7. The coroner commended the action of the police and residents of the neighbourhood in having rendered every assistance possible to locate the missing child.