UPDATED: Infant Found Dead At Barnwell County Home Day Care Center; DSS Releases Statement

2-Month-Old Found Dead At Barnwell County Home Day Care Center (Added: May 12, 2011)

Barnwell Police Chief Todd Gantt tells WJBF News Channel 6 his office is investigating after an infant was found unresponsive at a home day care center. WJBF News Channel 6's Brett Buffington reports. (more)

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Barnwell Police Investigating Death Of Infant At Day Care

State and Local Investigators at home day care center in Barnwell County, where a 2-month-old boy was found dead Wednesday.

By: Brett Buffington | WJBF News Channel 6
Published: May 12, 2011
Updated: May 12, 2011 - 5:36 PM

Barnwell, SC --

***UPDATED at 5:36 P.M. on May 12th***

There's still no word on the cause of death of a 3-month-old Barnwell, South Carolina child at a day care Wednesday.

Anthony Peeples, Jr. was found unresponsive Wednesday afternoon at that daycare.

An autopsy was performed Thursday, but the Barnwell County coroner tells us the results are still pending. It could be weeks before we know what killed Peeples.

Investigators do not suspect foul play.

The South Carolina Department of Social Services released the following statement late Thursday afternoon:

"This child care provider is currently closed. The Department of Social Services (DSS) will continue its investigation along with law enforcement to try to determine what happened. DSS Child Care Regulatory staff is currently investigating this tragic incident and will cite any regulatory violations discovered in the course of the investigation. Our agency is deeply saddened by the loss of this little boy."

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Police in Barnwell are hoping an autopsy scheduled for Thursday morning will help them answer many of their questions about how a two-month-old baby boy died at a home day care on Wednesday.

Todd Gantt, Barnwell's Police Chief, says right now his investigation has found no obvious signs that anything wrong led to the infant's death, but he says he would be rather safe than sorry.

Wednesday evening, the home day care was surrounded by crime scene tape while crime scene investigators from both the Barnwell Police Department and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) worked to make sure no crime was committed.

Chief Gantt says this death investigation is being treated differently because the child died in the custody of a day care.

Count on News Channel 6 to continue to follow this story through the next couple of days. We hope to have more information Thursday after that autopsy is finished, and the findings released.