TORONTO - A 24-year-old New York City woman has been charged in connection to the abduction of a one-month-old baby girl who disappeared from a casting call in Toronto's west end.
The girl's parents alerted police to the disappearance shortly before midnight on Thursday.
Police say the parents took the baby to an audition in the Birmingham Street and Islington Avenue area of Etobicoke.
Police say that while the girl's mother was filling out paperwork, a woman who said she worked for the production company took the baby into the next room. The woman then allegedly left the site with the child.
A member of the public returned the baby to police about two hours later. The accused was arrested in Scarborough shortly after.
Const. Tony Vella said they were preparing to issue an Amber Alert when the child was recovered.
"The officers did an excellent job. They acted immediately, the responded to the call and worked with the community. As a result the child was recovered," Vella told CTV Toronto. "This situation could have been much worse."
A production company named à La Carte Videos was listed under the address but it was unclear as to whether the were involved in the shoot.
Area resident Carmen Declou said the building was a co-op where artists of many ilk resided.
"There are all different walks of life and you don't know. You only hope for the best, and it is really sad when you hear something like that," Declou told CTV Toronto.
Michelle Marie Gopaul, 24, has charged with abduction of a person under the age of 14.
She is scheduled to appear in a Toronto court on Saturday.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Alicia Markson
