DETROIT – Police are investigating the death of a 1-year-old girl who died Friday night on Detroit's west side.
According to authorities, the mother had called two babysitters to watch her children but had left the home in the 15000 block of Ferguson Street before they arrived.
The oldest child at the home at the time was 10.
Bobby Johnson is a contractor working across the street from where the baby girl died.
"I had just seen them yesterday, in the yard playing. The baby was in the stroller and other kids were hugging and kissing them," Johnson said. "She was cute, grabbing onto anything that was close to her. I sort of miss her now, used to seeing her around here."
Police said the baby dropped through a hole in the floor and fell into the basement, which was flooded with water.
"I'm stunned. I'm shocked," Johnson said. "I thought the baby drowned in the tub."
Investigators are waiting for the autopsy report to determine the official cause of death.
Johnson said the homes in the neighborhood on Ferguson Street and Fenkell Avenue were built in the '40s. While some have been maintained, others fell into disrepair.
No one has been taken into custody at this time. Detroit police said the mother is cooperating.
It's not clear how long all the kids were left alone before the baby fell into the basement.
The investigation is ongoing.