A 9-month-old boy died at an in-home day care last month. Police are now calling his death suspicious.
On Sept. 29, police were called to Sunshine Kids Group Daycare Home.
When they arrived, they found workers performing CPR on the infant who’s been identified as Oliver “Ollie” Ortiz.
Oliver was taken to a nearby hospital where he died.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment suspended the day care’s license.
The Eudora Police Department told the 41 Action News investigators Oliver was injured at the day care. However, they are not saying how.
The EPD said it’s looking through computers and cellphones that were taken from the day care as part of the investigation.
Tiffany Healey lives just a few doors down from Oliver’s family.
“We’re hurting for them and hoping they’re doing ok,” Healey said.
Healey told the 41 Action News investigators she recently spoke with Oliver’s mother about the incident, but doesn’t know how the boy was hurt.
“I asked her if it even seems real and she just said, ‘No, just hard to be at the house,’” Healey said.
Healey said she knows the day care owner well. In fact, her oldest son went to Kids Group Daycare Home for two years.
“It was always a good experience,” she said. “He liked it, she was good, her assistants were good with him.”
Sunshine Kids Group Daycare Home was licensed in 1994.
The 41 Action News investigators have learned inspectors were at the day care just two months ago. They found three minor violations.
Online inspection reports date back to 2014. When reading through them, nothing stands out as a red flag.
However, in 2015, inspectors visited the home on a complaint. KDHE said the details of that complaint are no longer available to the public, due to the current investigation.
While Healey said the owner was firm with the children, she said she always treated them well.
“She keeps them in line but I would never suspect any kind of abuse or anything over there,” Healey said.
The 41 Action News investigators stopped by the day care to find out what happened to Oliver, but no one answered.
The owner has filed an appeal to lift the suspension.
Healey said she’s worked in emergency rooms and has witnessed firsthand tragedies involving children.
“Infant fatalities can happen anywhere,” she said. “When it happens in a day care, it hits home because people have to leave their kids. It’s sad that way because you know that the kid was left there.”
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Jessica McMaster can be reached at jessica.mcmaster@kshb.com.
