CLINTON — A 1-year-old child has died at a Portland hospital after apparently falling into a plastic storage bin outside the boy’s home that had filled with rainwater, authorities said.
Shannon Moss, a spokesperson for Maine State Police, confirmed the death of the boy in an email Thursday. It wasn’t clear if he died Wednesday or Thursday and Moss did not respond to a request for additional details.
Clinton police received a report about 7 p.m. Tuesday of a child in a backyard pool and a responding officer then learned the boy was found in the bin, police Chief Stanley “Rusty” Bell said earlier.
A preliminary investigation determined the child somehow toppled into the bin and was unable to get out, Bell said. He was pulled from the bin after another child alerted the boy’s mother, Moss previously said.
The responding officer arrived at the home at 8 Elwood Drive just minutes after the call and began CPR, Bell said. First responders arrived at the scene and the officer left with the ambulance, continuing CPR. The child was taken to a hospital and then taken by LifeFlight to Maine Medical Center in Portland.
Bell said Thursday that he wasn’t aware of any charges that may be pending, but the matter remains under investigation by Maine State Police.
Elwood Drive is off Hinckley Road northwest of the town center.

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