'Everybody’s pulling together': Community reels following death of 10-year-old girl near Brantford
A community is in mourning after a 10-year-old girl was killed earlier this week when flames tore through her family’s camping trailer southeast of Brantford.
The family says they have been overwhelmed by the kindness people have been showing since that tragic day. They are now working to support the rest of the surviving family members as they mourn the loss of 10-year-old Ava Howick.
"I was just basically numb, devastated," said Ava’s great aunt Bonnie Childs.
Flames ripped through a camping trailer in Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation just before 2 a.m. Monday.
Marshall Howick, Norma White-Howick, and four of their children were able to escape, but their daughter Ava didn’t make it out.
"I got a message from my sister-in-law through Facebook so that’s how I found out," said Childs.
Police say Ava was located inside the trailer and pronounced dead at the scene. Her 15-year-old brother remains in hospital.
For Childs, she received the heartbreaking news on her way home from a vacation.
"It was so much and I was so far away," she said. "I couldn’t do anything. I wanted to be home right then [and] I was told about Ava.”
Childs says Ava was a happy child full of life and determination.
"She was an energetic little thing," she said. "She liked to be outside, all of those kids loved to be outside. If they could find the woods to play in, that’s where they would be playing."
Ava Howick, 10, is seen in this undated photo. (Facebook - Bonnie M Howick-Childs)
It is still not clear how this fire began and officials say it could take some time to find answers.
A spokesperson for the Ontario Fire Marshal told CTV News in part, "the investigation into the fire remains ongoing and no cause of fire has been determined at this time."
As the family reels from the loss, they face the reality of funeral costs and finding a new place to live.
Childs says the community has come together to help raise funds and gathering donations.
"Just a lot of people reaching out and sending donations," she said. "Yesterday, my one niece had delivered a whole truck load of toys and clothing."
A statement was also issued by Chief Stacey Laforme of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation saying in part, "we are all connected, we are all feeling the pain of this tragedy."
They’re also collecting financial donations for the family and say, when the time if right, they will collect clothing and other household items.
"Everybody’s pulling together," said Childs. "Cousins, my cousins, my neighbors, everybody’s pulling together and reaching out."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Metro Vancouver mayors call for serial killer Robert Pickton to be denied parole
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for 'prolific offenders and mass murderers.'