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A family of four found dead in a residence on County Road 13, also known as Erie Road in Harrow, are being mourned in the community as police investigate what happened.
OPP officers responded to the home on the 1200 block around 1:30 p.m. Thursday and have been on the scene ever since.
“It is out there on social media that it is a family of four,” said Essex Mayor Sherry Bondy at a news conference at the OPP office in Tecumseh Friday. “Our day cares, our schools are already acting and doing things to support individuals connected to the family.
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Police have not released the identity of the victims.
“We know that mom was really active in the community, soccer, at the youth centre, working at a local business,” said Bondy.
Flags have been lowered at the town hall in Harrow and in Colchester “to symbolize that we understand that the community is going through a lot right now,” she said.
Post-mortems will be conducted at the Centre for Forensic Sciences in London.
“We want to acknowledge it is a tragedy, a real tragedy,” said Derek Rogers, OPP communications co-ordinator for the western region, at the news conference. “Four lives have been taken and it leaves a hole in the community that everybody feels.
“OPP officers at the scene want to express condolences to family and to friends.”
Investigators believe there is “no imminent threat to public safety,” Rogers said.
“The circumstances that our investigators have determined (is) that there is no cause for that kind of level of concern,” he said. “Having said that, people should always take precautions, but there is no believe that there is a public safety threat.”
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When asked, Rogers could not say whether police are looking for a suspect.
Forensic officers and the coroner’s office were on the scene.
Rogers couldn’t say whether the address had been the subject of any criminal investigations in the past.
“We’re not able to come out and say it’s suspicious at this point in the investigation,” he said. “It’s difficult to determine at this point and say definitively what led to the sequence of events there.
“There is enough there that our criminal investigations branch is engaged in this investigation.”
Sisters Nancy and Rita Jaekel live two doors down from the scene. Nancy Jaekel told the Windsor Star she was shocked when she learned about the deaths.
“I was home but I didn’t hear anything at the time,” she said. “I learned about it a couple of hours later.”
Rita was working at the Lucky Kitchen Restaurant in Harrow when she noticed several police cars and fire trucks speeding down the road.
“My boss was out delivering at the time,” said Rita. “When he got back to the restaurant and told me it was close to my house. That’s when I knew something happened there, but I just didn’t know what had happened.”
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Both sisters said they had never interacted with the family before, except for meeting the mother, who they found to be very nice.
Rob McLean, a resident who has called Harrow home for 25 years, told the Star that what happened will have a big impact on the community because it is so small.
“It has rocked the community,” said McLean. “It’s common in other places, but in a small town like Harrow, we don’t have a lot of crime, of any kind. It’s very unfortunate.”
The mother was described by friends as a happy, well-loved person.
“She was a beautiful, positive, sunny person,” said friend Sarah (who did not want to give her last name), manager at Howe Fitness in Kingsville, where the mother worked out. “Always happy. A great mom.”
“I know that she worked at one of the local wineries for a period of time and she was always a happy, go-lucky person,” Sarah said. “Always very positive.”
Sarah also described her friend as “super kind.
“Her children were great. I didn’t know her husband. I never met him,” she said.
“Her and her family will be dearly missed. The community is devastated. I know all of my trainers here, all of the people that knew her … everybody is devastated to hear that her whole family is gone.
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“(We’re) very sad about the children,” Sarah added. “It’s just brutal.”
“Her Howe Fit family sends their condolences and we are all very heartbroken.”
It’s believed the mother worked at the Paglione Estate Winery in Harrow.
A person who answered the phone at Paglione declined comment and directed all inquiries to the OPP.
The community is challenged by grief, said Bondy.
“We want have such a small town and everybody’s connected so this is impacting our daycare out schools our youth centre, our local businesses, just about every area of the municipality is impacted.”
She advised people in the community to support each other.
“Love your loved ones closer. Hug your friends, hug your family because just never know.
“Be here for each other and make sure that members of our circle are doing okay, because people in our community are not doing okay right now, with financial stress and mental health stress.”
The Harrow Health Centre is providing free confidential counselling Monday to Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day, Bondy said.
“My phone has been really active with people coming forward to offer help to offer services,” said Bondy. “At this time, if you need to speak to somebody please reach out. We don’t have to bear this alone.
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“If you’re going through something in your family, now is the time to connect and get help to get resources. This just shows that families are struggling and times are challenging for individuals.
“We want to make sure we’re sharing supports. If you know somebody that needs help don’t wait. If you have that feeling, reach out and get help for members of our community. …We need to make sure we’re supporting members of our community before it’s too late.”
A candlelight vigil for the family is set for the Harrow Soccer Fields at 7 p.m. Sunday.
“The town of Harrow was hit with a devastating tragedy. On June 20, the world lost a beautiful family,” the Facebook page announcing the vigil said
“These people would light up any room they walked In. Their smiles, their laughs, even their jokes.
“The love that everyone in this town has for these individuals is outstanding.”
Candles will be provided. Donations will be collected for the family to help subsidize costs of funeral arrangements.
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