Toronto police are crediting a quick-thinking Uber driver for bringing a toddler to safety after he found the child wandering alone early Thursday morning.
Police say the two-year-old boy was found barefoot outside, wearing only a diaper and T-shirt, in the area of Markham Road and Cougar Court at around 3 a.m.
He was spotted by an Uber driver, who picked the child up and then called police.
“It was about six degrees last night so quite cold. We don’t believe the child had been out too, too long. He was in very good health and good shape,” Toronto police Supt. David Ridzik said on Thursday.
The child was brought to 43 Division and cared for by officers until the boy’s mother contacted police shortly after 8 a.m.
“The mother has not been interviewed but found out the information that the child had been located and contacted us right away and obviously was a little distraught,” Ridzik said.
The Child and Youth Advocacy Centre will be conducting an investigation into the incident.
“They will look into the circumstances and try to find out and determine exactly what happened,” Ridzik said.
“Two year olds are quite mobile sometimes and can get out in the middle of night if you are sleeping and they climb out of the crib…We all know how mobile they can get and how innovative they are sometimes in being able to get doors open and things like that.”
He commended the Uber driver involved for keeping the child safe.
“Thank goodness this Uber driver was switched on, saw the child, and did the right thing and contacted us. The child is safe and will shortly be reunited with his parents,” Ridzik said.
He noted that it is the third time in the last few weeks that a taxi driver has assisted police in locating a missing person.
“I’ll be reaching out to Uber to find out who that driver is and see if they would like to come in and get some recognition,” Ridzik said.
“Last night he stepped up, he was paying attention, saw this two-year-old wandering around and brought him to safety.”
