The White Pine Police Department has confirmed that an investigation is underway following the death of a 5-year-old child with special needs on Tuesday afternoon. As reported by WATE, the police responded to a call on Harrison Road at approximately 2:36 p.m., where the child was found to have suffered cardiac arrest. Officers arrived at the scene within two minutes, but the child was already deceased.
The circumstances surrounding the child's death are being closely examined, with the body transported to the Knox County Regional Forensic Center for an autopsy. The White Pine Police Department has vowed to provide more information as it becomes available, acknowledging the active and ongoing nature of the investigation. Meanwhile, according to information obtained by WVLT, an arrest was made at the scene on unrelated charges.
In a statement to WBIR, White Pine Police Department Chief Chad Cotter relayed that the child was not breathing and lacked a heartbeat upon the officers' arrival. The same statement concluded with the information that the father, William Sipple, was taken into custody following an alleged assault on the child's mother, which occurred separate from the child's death. Sipple has since been released on bond with a no-contact order regarding the child's mother.
Adding to the complexity of the situation, the Department of Children's Services is now involved, working with the family's other child, an 8-year-old girl, due to the circumstances at the residence. Department of Children's Services confirmed the opening of an investigation, as Chief Cotter noted the police's familiarity with the family, having had prior cause to respond there. At this stage, details on the disability that affected the 5-year-old are withheld, pending the results of the autopsy, according to WBIR's report.
