Toronto Crime Stoppers is pitching in to help search for a missing British girl who disappeared while her family was on vacation in Portugal last month.
The organization has posted a plea on YouTube for tips on the disappearance of four-year-old Madeleine McCann from the Algarve region on May 3.
"As police officers and community members, we all share a genuine concern for the return of a missing child," Toronto police Const. Scott Mills says on the video.
Mills says police hoped to connect with youths whose families may know what happened after McCann was last seen in her family's holiday apartment.
"There is a large and vibrant Portuguese community in Toronto with direct links to the Algarve region where Madeleine McCann was reported missing," Mills says.
"Often youth...speak and understand English much better than parents and are very active in Toronto on social networking sites and video-sharing websites, but often parents are ones with closest links to their native countries."
Crime Stoppers hopes that their YouTube plea will be viewed by young people, and that the McCann video and others of missing youths in Toronto will generate tips for their investigations
The organization doesn't trace phone calls and mails tips are encrypted to keep the identity of the sender anonymous.
Crime Stoppers offers tipsters cash rewards of up to $2,000 for information that is useful in police investigations.
Tips are accepted toll free from anywhere in Canada by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Online, tips can be left through the website www.222tips.com.
Information on McCann will be forwarded immediately to investigators in Portugal and the United Kingdom.
