Father and daughter found dead inside Lancaster home

A man and his young daughter were found dead inside a south Red Deer home Sunday afternoon, and an investigation into their deaths is underway.

Red Deer RCMP attended the residence in the Lancaster neighborhood at about 3:30 p.m. as part of a welfare check.  Mounties gained entry into the secure residence and once inside they located the body of a 39-year-old man and his six-year-old daughter. 

The RCMP Serious Crimes Branch South was called in to assist Red Deer City and Red Deer GIS with the investigation.  The names of the deceased are not being released at this time. 

“Initial investigation suggests that there is no threat to the public,” Cpl. Curtis Peters, RCMP Media Relations, says in a release. “The school of the girl has been notified and is in the process of arranging counsellors for any affected teachers and students.”

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An autopsy to determine the cause of death for the pair is scheduled for Tuesday morning in Calgary.

“On behalf of the RCMP, I want to express our most sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased, “ says Red Deer RCMP Superintendent Ken Foster. “This is a tragic loss that affects our whole community.”

A woman who lives a few houses down from where the pair was discovered says she’s shocked that something like this happened so close to home.

The woman, who asked not to be named, says she didn’t know the family well but always waved hi to the father when out and about, noting he always seemed friendly.

“There was nothing about that particular house or any house in this neighbourhood; it’s a very nice, quiet neighbourhood,” she said.

“There was a child involved. So that makes it harder for the community to understand. Maybe was there something the community could have done to prevent it from happening.”

At an afternoon media conference, Foster offered little in terms of details other than that RCMP are seeking no other suspects or information from the public in relation to the case.

He wouldn’t comment as to whether the residence was one police had visited before, or if the deceased man was someone who was known to police.

“It was somebody who knew the deceased,” Foster said about who asked police to check on the home. “As to the name of that person, I’m not aware of who that person was. For privacy reasons I wouldn’t state it anyway. Certainly it was someone who knew the deceased who called us to check their well-being.” 

Foster did not release the name of the school the girl attended, only noting that it is not in Red Deer.