The 14-year-old boy who was abducted and held against his will for nearly 40 hours was eventually found in an abandoned barn in a rural area of Brampton, police sources say.
The boy was forcibly pushed into a dark coloured Jeep on Driftwood Avenue in Toronto at around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, as he was on his way to school.
Witnesses told police the boy screamed for help as two men clad in dark clothing and bandanas manhandled him and then sped off.
The system meant to notify his parents of his absence at high school inexplicably failed to do so until after 6 p.m. that night, at least a half hour after the boy’s father had already called police to report his son was missing.
An Amber Alert was issued province wide by midnight, a full 16 hours after the boy was taken.
The abduction prompted a large police response, with officers later learning that the boy had been abducted over his stepbrother’s alleged $4 million drug debt resulting from the theft of a large quantity of cocaine.
Sometime before 11 p.m. Thursday, police said the boy had been found.
Police sources confirm to CP24 that he was found in a barn off 10869 Heritage Road near Wanless Drive, in the westernmost section of Brampton.
Halton paramedics took the boy to Sick Kids Hospital for a checkup, where he was met by his mother.
A large number of police investigators were also at the hospital.
Also on Thursday, OPP officers located a burned-out vehicle in Forks of the Credit Provincial Park in Caledon that they believe is the Jeep that was used to abduct the boy.
It was found a 26 minute drive away from the barn.
The Toronto District School Board said four staff members have been put on home assignment while an investigation is launched into why the boy’s family wasn’t notified sooner of their son’s absence from school.
Investigators are expected to speak more about the case sometime on Friday.
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