The St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department and Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education are investigating after a three-year-old with special needs died at a Park Hills daycare last Friday.

According to St. Francois County Sheriff Jeffrey Crites, the death happened Friday, May 16, at Poppy’s Playhouse 2. A memorial filled with balloons, toys, and flowers for Conrad Ashcraft now surrounds the daycare.

“He was a beautiful child. He enjoyed being free and living his sweet little life,” Lacey Hardie, Conrad’s aunt, said.
The Park Hills Police Department contacted county authorities on Friday, May 16, after Ashcraft was found dead at the daycare.

The daycare is owned by a member of the Park Hills City Council. As a result, city police have deferred to county investigators to ensure transparency.

Sheriff Crites said the investigation is ongoing. An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday.
https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/pa...-childs-death/