Brandon police have cracked a mysterious case and now a woman they needed help identifying is facing mischief charges for claiming to be a human trafficking victim when she was actually on the run from a custody battle in Ontario.

The woman in the photo has been identified as a 39-year-old mother from Etobicoke. She is now charged with public mischief for allegedly lying to investigators about being the victim of human trafficking. She claimed she was abducted as a child and had been held captive in Winnipeg for years.

'She just had to keep up with her story and she was fairly good at it.' - Sgt. Kevin McLean , Brandon police

"This female came to Brandon and made allegations regarding human trafficking involving herself and her daughter," said Brandon police Sgt. Kevin McLean, adding the case stumped investigators since September.

"These allegations have been proven false and in fact she is fleeing Ontario with her daughter and it's something to do with a custody order out of Ontario."

Woman 'good at' telling false story

The woman in this photo, sent out by Brandon police when they were trying to identify her, is now charged with public mischief for allegedly lying to investigators about being the victim of human trafficking. (Courtesy Brandon Police Service) The woman and her daughter came to Brandon in late August with no identification. They reached out to a social agency in town. That agency in turn called police.

"I believe she started this story with the service agency that took her in when she first got to Brandon and then they got in contact with us because it was criminal in nature. So at that point, she just had to keep up with her story and she was fairly good at it," McLean said.

"Her story didn't involve names. She didn't know names," said McLean. "So before we could start an investigation, we had to find out who they were."

First, investigators reached out to police agencies across Canada to try and match their alleged victim to any of the child abductions they might have had on file but things weren't coming together.

Investigators had suspicions

"Nobody had anything, so at that point we have to expand things to find out who these people are," said McLean.

He added the woman kept to her story and gave investigators a false name.

"Our investigators had suspicions that possibly it wasn't a true story but we have to go with every, with somebody's story until we prove otherwise," said McLean.

Police got a call from the Canadian Centre for Child Protection just before 6 p.m. Thursday notifying them a social worker from Ontario, who had previous contact with the mother and daughter, had come forward.

That information eventually led to the woman's arrest.

'Quite shocking news'

"I know she was charged with mischief. I don't know if more charges will follow," an Ontario man who says he is the woman's ex and the girl's dad told CBC News.

The man called the revelations "quite shocking news."

The two broke up in 2008 and reconciled before breaking up again in 2009, he said, adding he'd had unsupervised visits with his daughter since 2010.

The only victim in this entire incident is that young seven year old. - Sgt. Kevin McLean

"I had her every other weekend plus 3½ weeks vacation," he said, adding that all changed in July after the child made allegations against him.

"My daughter was making allegations that I touched her [inappropriately] and she was saying this herself. This was after being with [her mom] for three weeks during their vacation time," he said.

A judge at one point granted the woman a restraining order against her ex. Children's Aid Society of Toronto launched an investigation but found the allegations "unverified," he said. His weekly access to the girl resumed Sept 2, he said.

"That's when they disappeared," he said.

In the two months the pair were in Manitoba, they were never reported missing. Toronto police are investigating but no charges have been laid. Officers couldn't say if they were considering any charges.

The man said his daughter will be returned to Ontario next week and will be placed in foster care until custody is sorted out.

"She had custody but that will be changed," he said. "CAS will be having temporary custody for a month or two as they transition into having my daughter reunited with my family, at which point I will have custody."

Child 'only victim' here, police say

"The only victim in this entire incident is that young seven year old," said McLean.

"She was dragged along in it, she was coached what to tell people."

Because the child is now in CFS custody, the pair can't be identified.