ST-ALBERT, Ont. – An acting staff sergeant with the Ontario Provincial Police says time was of the essence during a four day multi police force search for a 3-year-old Montreal girl.
The Quebec provincial police and Ontario Provincial Police held a 15-minute news conference in St-Albert, Ont. at 7 p.m. tonight.
“This search has weighed heavily on everyone including members of the public who came deeply invested in the fate of this young child. This was a search where we knew especially that given her age every hour mattered,” Shaun Cameron said.
The officer said this search would not have ended successfully had it not been for “critical information from the public.”
“This is a prime example of how every tip, every piece of information, can help lead us to a positive outcome,” Cameron said.
The girl was found by the OPP Emergency Response Team (ERT) just after 2 p.m. today (June 18) after an OPP drone spotted her near the eastbound lanes of Highway 417 east of the Casselman on-ramp.
She had been missing since Sunday after her mother went to a store in Coteau-du-Lac, west of Montreal, and told staff she didn’t know where her daughter was.
SD&G OPP was also involved in the search.
Officers would not elaborate on the state of the girl’s health other than to say she was taken to hospital to be assessed.
A Surete du Quebec officer said up to 200 people were working “day and night” on the missing persons case.
“Now we’ve got to think about the young girl that’s now in the hospital and think about her health,” the officer said.
The mother is scheduled to appear in a Valleyfield, Que. court on Friday (June 20) on a charge of child abandonment.