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Police investigating after toddler dies falling from a hotel window

The parents of the Minnesota 1-year-old boy said his deadly fall was nothing more than a "tragic accident."
Crime scene tape sections off a sidewalk area.
Posted at 9:40 PM, Apr 17, 2024

A Minnesota toddler who fell from a South Dakota hotel's third-floor window has died.

Kathryn and Alex Hein of Lakefield, Minnesota, wrote in a Facebook post that their 1-year-old son, Madden, died Monday, two days after falling at Club House Hotel & Suites in Sioux Falls.

"It is with heavy hearts to say that our sweet baby boy Madden gained his angel wings late on April 15th," the couple wrote. "We miss him so much and we are having a hard time processing this all."

The parents also wrote that the boy is "going into organ donation. His organs are going to help so many other people. Our little boy is a real-life superhero."

Police are investigating the boy's death, but a Sioux Falls Police Department spokesman, Officer Sam Clemens, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that there is "nothing to lead us to believe it was anything other than a tragic accident."

Alex Hein is a middle school social studies teacher and a high school basketball coach. Kathryn Hein is a kindergarten teacher and helps coach volleyball. The couple also have a 3-year-old daughter and are expecting another child in August, the Star Tribune reported.

GoFundMe for the family has raised more than $67,500 as of Tuesday evening. 

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