NEED TO KNOW
- Gunner Matthew Hyatt, 6, died of suffocation due to a balloon on May 29, officials and family said
- The little boy had just graduated kindergarten at his Mount Carmel, Ill., elementary school
- “He will forever be in our thoughts, and we will never truly recover from this,” his aunt wrote on Facebook
A 6-year-old boy suffocated to death because of a balloon, officials and family said.
The child, identified by family as Gunner Matthew Hyatt, was at a home in Mount Carmel, Ill., on Thursday, May 29, when the tragic accident occurred, according to a statement from the Wabash County Coroner’s Office.
“Preliminary findings indicate that the cause of death is consistent with suffocation due to a Mylar-helium filled balloon,” the coroner’s office added. “Additional testing and toxicology are pending to determine the final cause of death.”
Coroner Shaun Keepes warned that the large balloons may seem “harmless” but they can be dangerous, especially to young children, posing a risk of the “rare but devastating possibility of suffocation and/or helium toxicity.”
The coroner’s office says the investigation is ongoing when contacted by PEOPLE. The Mount Carmel Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Hyatt, who attended Mount Carmel Elementary School, is survived by his parents, Steven and Kayla Hyatt, and his siblings, Granger and Myah, according to his obituary.
The family is heartbroken, a woman who identified herself as Gunner’s aunt said on Facebook.
“He was an absolute joy, and such a thrilling child to be around,” she wrote. “There are no words to express how deeply we are feeling his absence. He will forever be in our thoughts, and we will never truly recover from this.”
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The aunt added that their family has found “comfort in knowing that he will never know the sorrows of life because his six short years were spent in happiness.”
In a GoFundMe page to support the Hyatt family, another family member paid tribute to the little boy. (Neither family member immediately responded to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.)
“This morning, our family tragically lost Gunner,” the organizer wrote, “the craziest, most loving little boy.”
Gunner’s funeral is scheduled for Friday, June 6, in Mount Carmel.
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