

Codi Wilson and Courtney Greenberg, CP24.com





A young girl found on a TTC bus by herself in downtown Toronto early this morning was supposed to meet her father at home, police have learned.

According to investigators, the girl was riding on a bus in the area of Yonge and Adelaide streets at around 3:20 a.m. when another passenger noticed she was not travelling with an adult. The passenger, police said, also noted that the child appeared to be too young to be riding by herself.

The passenger notified the bus driver, who then called police.

According to police, the girl had been out for the afternoon and was supposed to meet her dad at home, but she got confused. She got on public transit, they said, and that’s where she spent the night.

English is the child’s second language, police said, and she was too afraid to ask for help while she rode the bus.

“It was a bit of a challenge getting information, but we are currently speaking with the child and working with Children's Aid to try to get some answers as to what led to this," Toronto police Const. Allyson Douglas-Cook told CTV Toronto on Tuesday.

After spending hours with the child, police said they were able to gain her trust and learn some information about her. They said she told them she was nine years old and that she lived with her father.

Investigators eventually located the father, who is new to Canada, who told police that he comes from a country where people don’t go to police with their problems. He said he spent the whole night and morning trying to find his daughter.

A spokesperson with the TTC said the incident is being investigated.

"What we don't know at the TTC is when the child had boarded the bus,” Brad Ross said Tuesday.

“Did they board with somebody else, where did they board, at what point along the route, at what time?"

Ross said although there are some unknowns, it is now a police investigation and the TTC won’t be looking into it further.

The case has been taken over by the 23 Division Youth Bureau.