No charges to be laid in case of missing 14-year-old North York girl
· Toronto Sun
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Toronto Police confirm there will be no criminal charges laid in connection with the nearly two-week disappearance of a 14-year-old girl who was found at a home in Rexdale.
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“The investigation is complete and no criminal charges have been laid,” police media relations officer Stephanie Miceli told the Toronto Sun on Friday.
“We won’t be providing more information on the investigation. As you can appreciate, this involves a young person and there are privacy considerations. We’re grateful that our officers found (her) safe and that she is getting the care she needs.”
The girl was initially reported missing from the Earl Bales Park area on May 15 by her family.
Officers, canine units and community members from the Jewish community — many of whom plastered posters from Shomrim Toronto all over the city – searched the North York park for any signs of the teen.
A $25,000 reward was also offered for information leading to finding her.
How the teen was finally found
The entire city seemed to breathe a sigh of relief when she was found on May 28 in the basement apartment of a Rexdale home and looked to be in good physical health.
Police traced her to the apartment after she was spotted the day before at a nearby Walmart at the corner of Rexdale Blvd. and Islington Ave. and was believed to have walked into a residential neighbhourhood nearby.
“They went up and down the street to check to see if neighbours had security video,” a resident near where she was located told the Sun’s Joe Warmington.
One neighbour said it was when they were talking with a neighbour who had a camera that everything changed.
“They were all running there toward the house,” said the neighbour, adding there was at least “six officers and five police cars.”
Within seconds, “they brought out a white man of about 30 and put him in a police car,” said the witness.
Then, out came the girl.
“She was wearing a black hoodie and a jacket and seemed to be walking fine,” the neighbour said to Warmington. “They put her in a police car as well and then left.”
At the time, police said they said they would examine whether there was evidence of criminality associated with her prolonged disappearance.
What her family said
The girl’s family said after she was found that they were grateful, but also asked that people refrain from speculating.
A family spokesperson, Maureen Leshem, told reporters at a May 28 press conference they were feeling “immense relief” that the teen had been found safe and were grateful for the community’s help
“Thousands of people came out to help from all walks of life,” said Leshem.
“Not just from our community but from the entire community. People as far as Hamilton, we had old people, young people, children, wherever they could poster, wherever they could spread the word, everyone was willing to do what they needed to do regardless of whether they knew (her) or not,” she said.