POLICE have not ruled out the possibility of criminal charges following the drowning of a four-year-old girl last year.
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The Central West Police District has formed Strike Force Tamboon to investigate the death of Mia Harrison.
Crime manager Detective Inspector Bruce Grassick said the coroner had granted police permission to extend their investigations and a team of detectives had been assigned.
Detective Inspector Grassick said police had not ruled out criminality.
He declined to give details, although he said CCTV footage had been useful in understanding what happened.
“The suggestion there may be a criminal element hasn’t escaped us and that’s at the forefront of our investigation - we need to look at all the circumstances,” he said.
“That will remain until other lines of inquiry have been exhausted.”
He said if criminal charges were deemed necessary, police could refer the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
“We are confident we have got all the information from the majority of witnesses who were privy to that situation,” he said.
“That goes without saying if there’s someone in the community who can assist us, we want to hear from them.”
Mia Harrison was pulled from the water unconscious at Orange Aquatic Centre at about 3.30pm on November 4, 2017.
She was pronounced dead after being taken to Orange Health Service.
Council spokesman Allan Reeder said the council was working closely with police in their inquiries.
In the meantime as the weather heats up, Detective Inspector Grassick said families should be conscious of water safety, regardless of whether it was a pool, creek or lake.
“Particularly for young children,” he said.
“They can get into trouble extremely quickly and an incident can occur in a matter of seconds.”
Anyone with information can contact Orange police on 6363 6399 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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