The Canadian Press
TORONTO–A frantic search for a four-year-old girl who disappeared when her family car was stolen from the driveway of her Toronto home ended this morning when she was reunited with her parents after going missing for more than three hours.
Toronto police said the girl was discovered sitting in the running vehicle around 9:30 a.m.–not far from where she was taken in the city’s west end.
Det. Ranbir Dhillon said the car was abandoned with the child inside, adding an alert passer-by was responsible for telling police about the girl’s whereabouts.
“Someone walking by found the car. It’s running. She’s inside,” Dhillon said at a press conference moments after the girl was found.
“Our officers got on scene and confirmed that . . . she’s OK.”
The hunt for the child began shortly after 6 a.m. when police said her parents put her in the running car, then returned inside their home to retrieve another child.
When the parents returned about 10 minutes later, they said the car was gone with the girl seated inside.
Around 7:30 a.m., police issued an Amber Alert, which is used to alert the public of circumstances in which a child may be in danger.
Around 10 a.m., the girl was reunited with her parents, who brought her home shortly thereafter.
Dhillon said police still have no information on the suspect who made off with the vehicle.
