9-year-old girl found alone on TTC bus reunited with father after 'miscommunication'
Father was relatively new to Canada and 'desperately looking and trying to find her,' police say
A nine-year-old girl who was found alone on a downtown Toronto bus at 3:30 a.m. is now reunited with her dad after what police are calling a "miscommunication."
A TTC bus driver called police from the intersection of Yonge and Adelaide early Tuesday after a passenger had alerted the driver about the girl. She was placed in the care of the Children's Aid Society while police investigated.
According to Toronto police spokesperson Const. Allyson Douglas-Cook, an interview with the girl's father revealed that the two were separated early Monday afternoon. The girl was supposed to bus home earlier that day.
"She got confused and ended up going in a completely different direction to where she was supposed to, and somehow ended up, basically, on transit until the wee hours of the morning the following day," said Douglas-Cook.
The father was "relatively new to the country," so he wasn't sure what to do when his daughter went missing, police said. The girl also had some difficulties with English, according to police.
"So sadly, when the daughter was out throughout the night, dad was desperately looking and trying to find her as well," said Douglas-Cook.
Police said they feel comfortable enough to allow the girl to go back home, and said they gave the father resources so the situation wouldn't happen again.
"We're relieved. It's a happy ending that dad and his daughter are reunited," said Douglas-Cook.