Amber Alert cancelled after four-year-old girl found safe in abandoned car

Video footage shot by local media showed the girl high-fiving police officers as she was carried out of an ambulance in her father’s arms.

The child’s mother, showing visible signs of emotion, made a brief statement in which she repeatedly expressed her joy and relief at her daughter’s safe return.

“I’m so happy because I have only two daughters,” she said. “I don’t know what to say.”

A man identifying himself as a cousin later emerged to thank police and the public for their help in locating the girl and requested privacy for the family as they recover from a “traumatic event.”

The hunt for the girl 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 make the public aware of circumstances in which a child may be in danger.

Dhillon said police still have no information on the suspect who made off with the vehicle, including age, gender and whether or not there’s a connection to the family.

Dhillon said, however, that he was “feeling good” about the successful resolution of the case, likening the search for the girl to hunting for a needle in a haystack.

He said the incident highlights the importance of safeguarding children in vehicles.

“Do not leave your children in your car,” he said. “You should be there with your child, especially if they’re this young. Do not leave your child in a car alone, ever.”

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Michelle McQuigge, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Amber Alert cancelled after four-year-old girl found safe in abandoned car

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