Police in B.C.'s Fraser Valley have launched a criminal investigation after a toddler was found dead following an overnight house fire.
RCMP said the 18-month-old could not be saved after a fire ripped through a home in Silver Creek, just west of Hope.
Flames broke out shortly after 1:30 a.m. at the two-storey duplex on Beacon Road.
The toddler was found deceased in a crib after members of the Hope Fire Department extinguished the flames and searched the home.
No one else was injured.
Witnesses told CTV News the parents had gone for a walk and returned home to find the home engulfed in flames.
The UFVRD Serious Crime section has taken over the criminal investigation.
Cpl. Tammy Hollingsworth said the cause of the fire and the cause of the death of the tot are still unknown.
Police are not identifying the dead boy, but neighbours say his name was Dillon Walker. His older brother Quentin was visiting relatives at the time of the fire.
