Boy, 3, found safe in Toronto after Amber Alert issued in Sudbury, Ont.
Child, mother found Tuesday morning after last seen boarding bus from Sudbury
A call to a tip line from a woman being sought in an Amber Alert helped in locating her and her three-year-old son safe in Toronto early Tuesday, say Sudbury, Ont., police, who issued the alert.
The two were foundin the Fort York Boulevard-Lake Shore Avenue West area of Toronto at an address on Bruyeres Mews.
Update:
Woman and Child have been located in the Fort York Blvd and Lake Shore Ave W area.
Both are safe.
Thank you for all of your concern and assistance.@SudburyPolice ^adc
—@TPSOperations
Kaitlynn Dunn, spokesperson withthe Greater Sudbury Police Service, saidthe mother and son were dropped off at the Rainbow Centre Mall on Monday around noon ET. The boy was supposed to be brought back to his guardian, his grandmother.
The grandmother phoned police when the child wasn't returned to her.
"We began checking places that his mother is known to visit," Dunnsaid.
She saidofficers also checked with the Ontario Northland and Greyhound "because we always check those in case the person is looking to flee town."
Dunn said thataround 3a.m. Tuesday, an Ontario Northland employee confirmed to police that the pair had been seenboardinga bus in Sudbury en route to Toronto on Monday afternoon.
The alert was issued around 5 a.m. and the boy was reported safe around 7:30 a.m. after a call was placed to the police tip line by hismother, Dunn said. The alert was lifted around 7:55 a.m.
Dunn said the mother and childare in good health, and Sudbury police will investigate to determine "the intent of taking the child" and whether any charges will be laid.
Get an alert? Don't dial 911 to complain, police say
The alert went out across Ontario just before 5 a.m. Both police in Sudbury and Toronto confirm calls were made from the public about being woken up by the alert itself.
"A child's safety does trump somebody's sleep," Dunn said.
"We felt it was necessary to put out the Amber Alert in order to ensure he was safely found and it did just that: he was safely found."
Once again our Communications Centre has been receiving a number of calls from citizens using it as a platform to complain about being awaken by the Amber Alert.
REMINDER:
9-1-1 is for EMERGENCIES ONLY. Please help us to keep our phone lines free for real emergencies. Thanks^adc
—@TPSOperations
Dunn saidcalls to 911 should only be placed in certain circumstances: "911 is reserved for emergency matters. Your opinion or being upset regarding an Amber Alert is not an emergency matter."
Police saidthe following criteria to issue an Amber Alert may include:
- The child is under 18 years old.
- There is a belief the child has been abducted.
- There is information available that may help locate the child and/or abductor.
- The alert be issued within a reasonable amount of time from the moment of the abduction.
With files from the CBC's Martha Dillman and The Canadian Press