Mystery as one-year-old boy is found dead in California playground and father arrested
- The unconscious boy was found Wednesday in Melville J. Courson Park
- The toddler’s father, Schaffer Grindstaff, 29, was arrested Thursday
The father of a one-year-old boy found dead in a California playground has been arrested.
Schaffer Grindstaff, 29, was arrested for accessory to concealment of a crime and child endangerment.
His son Cameron Flores, who was 19 months old, was found unconscious just before 9 a.m. Wednesday at Melville J. Courson Park, 38226 10th Street East.
Flores’ mother called the police and said he couldn’t breathe. Officers rushed him to Antelope Valley Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The cause of his death is under investigation.
Cameron Flores, 19 months old, was found unresponsive in a playground at Melville J. Courson Park, 38226 10th Street East, just before 9 a.m. Wednesday.
According to neighbors, the child lived with his father in an apartment complex across the street from the park.
The sheriff’s department told local news: ‘When emergency services arrived on scene, they contacted the child’s father who stated that his young son suddenly began suffering a medical emergency in the park.
“The child was immediately transported to a local hospital where he was subsequently pronounced deceased.”
Neighbors told ABC7 that the boy was in a car with his father when he stopped breathing.
Grindstaff then reportedly began performing CPR on the child in the passenger seat until police arrived and took over.
A witness told the outlet, “Next thing you know, the officer gets the father out of the way and also starts CPR, pulls the child out of the car, places him on the ground and completes CPR on the child.”
Neighbor Lot Tibbs told KTL: ‘My friend woke me up this morning and told me that a little boy in the park had fainted and wasn’t breathing.’
Tibbs said authorities believed something happened to the child at his home across the street from the park before his death.
She added: ‘The police who knocked on my door asked if we had cameras and if we saw anything, but we said no.
“He was really devastated and so was I, because that’s really sad.”
Detectives were seen investigating the boy’s playground and home and interviewing neighbors
The child had no medical history or known problems.
Detectives were seen investigating the boy’s playground and home and interviewing neighbors.
The Department of Children and Family Services told ABC7 it could not reveal whether the agency was involved with the child or his family.
They said, “The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services joins the community in mourning the loss of an Antelope Valley child.”