Infant found dead on Surfers Paradise Beach on Gold Coast
A member of the public found the body overnight, and emergency services attempted CPR. Photo: ABC
Police will question the mother and father of a nine-month-old girl who died on a Gold Coast beach, with her death being treated as murder.
Homicide detectives joined the investigation after the girl’s body was found on Surfers Paradise Beach in early on Monday morning.
The child’s father, 48, and mother, 23, who are known to police, were to be formally questioned by police later on Monday.
Officers have described the place where the girl was found as “not your typical crime scene”.
The girl was found unresponsive on Surfers Paradise Beach by a passer-by, near the intersection of Staghorn Avenue and the Esplanade about 12.30am on Monday.
Emergency services attempted CPR, but the child died at the scene.
Police said the infant had been in the water at some point before she was discovered.
Police have declared a crime scene on the beach as they try to determine the cause of death. Photo: ABC
Gold Coast Criminal Investigation Branch Detective Inspector Marc Hogan said the baby’s parents were found at Broadbeach, about five kilometres from where her body was discovered.
“This is a very tragic event. It’s a very sad situation,” Inspector Hogan said.
“It will impact a lot of people.”
Police from NSW are involved in the investigation because its officers are interested in the couple’s recent movements in and around the Tweed Heads area, on the Queensland/NSW border.
The baby’s body was discovered alone on the beach, less than a kilometre from the main party precinct for school leavers.
Police do not believe the incident is related to the ‘schoolies’ end of high school celebrations, and it wasn’t a school leaver who found the child.
Detectives are checking CCTV footage from the Surfers Paradise area for clues to what happened and have appealed to anyone with information to come forward.
A post-mortem examination was to be conducted on Monday.
Surfers Paradise Beach is a three-kilometre coastal strip popular with locals and tourists. It is home to many hotels where school leavers regularly stay.
More than 13,000 teenagers attended the first night of festivities on Saturday, with 22,000 graduates expected to be part of the end-of-year event.
The toddler’s body was found about 750m from the main Schoolies entertainment area at Surfers Paradise beach. Photo: Facebook
-with agencies
