Erie police, the coroner and the district attorney's office are looking for answers in the death of an 8-year-old Erie boy.

The child was found unresponsive by his older brother on Monday morning January 22.

The death happened in a home at 709 West 16th Street.

Sources tell Erie News Now that the boy, a student at Harding Elementary, had not been in school for a number of days - possibly not since the first of the year.

Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook said a full autopsy was completed, but he has not yet ruled on the cause of death.  "Apparently it was a digestive problem and I don't think he was eating very much," Cook said.  "We didn't find anything that was suspicious that would indicate that this was a criminal the case, so until such time that we get everything back and can make an informed decision, we're pretty much stuck," the coroner added.

Coroner Cook said the child had some medical issues, but there were no signs of physical trauma. He said it will take 8-weeks to get the results of lab work back that may provide some answers.  "We're going to see whether or not he was dehydrated, we'll run cultures to see if there's any infections strep or or anything of that nature.  So we're just going to test for everything, because...we don't really have any answers at this point." 

As the coroner waits for the lab results Erie police and the office of District Attorney Beth Hirz are continuing their portions of the death investigation.  Police Chief Dan Spizarny said little, but did indicate that investigators are interviewing family members.

Erie's Public Schools issued this statement on the loss:

“We were terribly saddened to learn of the recent death of one of our Harding Elementary School students. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends, including all those who knew and loved him at Harding. While we work together to process this loss, counselors and other professionals who are trained to help meet the emotional needs of our students, staff and families will be available as part of our districtwide Student Assistance Program to anyone who may want or need assistance in the days ahead.”