TORONTO — A three-year-old Toronto boy who walked out of an apartment building into bitterly cold temperatures wearing only a shirt and a pull-up diaper was found without vital signs Thursday morning, police said.
Toronto police Insp. Frank Barredo said the boy — named Elijah — was found in the backyard of a nearby home about six hours after he wandered off.
"He was transported, unfortunately absent vital signs, to a local hospital and I'm afraid I don't have his condition at this time but obviously it's a very serious situation," Barredo told reporters.
The Greater Toronto Area was under an extreme cold warning at the time of the incident, with temperatures dropping to -20C, feeling even colder with wind chill.
Police said the boy disappeared from the apartment of a family member overnight. Security camera video showed him leaving the building at about 4 a.m.
Const. Victor Kwong said police were notified of the boy's disappearance at 7:30 a.m. by family members who said they put him to bed Wednesday night and woke up to find him gone and the front door open.
Officers on horseback, on foot and in a helicopter had been searching for the boy, asking neighbours to search their yards, hallways and stairwells for the missing youngster.
"Obviously the police response was aggressive and massive from the very early going because, of course, a missing three-year-old child in this sort of temperature in this sort of environment is something we treat very, very seriously," said Barredo.
Mike Colle, the riding's representative in the provincial legislature, called on community members to rally around the boy and his family.
"Pray for the boy that somehow miraculously he could survive this, that there's any chance, and pray for the family... and the whole community who's really totally devastated by this loss," he said in a news conference.
