TORONTO -- A 14-year-old boy, who was abducted as retribution for his stepbrother’s alleged drug debt, only remembers being pushed into the car and then waking up wearing construction clothing in a barn, his uncle says.
An Amber Alert was issued for the boy on Wednesday evening after he was forcibly pushed into a Jeep Wrangler around 8:30 a.m. in the area of Jane Street and Driftwood Avenue.
At the time, witnesses told police that they heard a boy screaming "help me, help me" as two men forced him into a vehicle.
Bystanders reported the teenager's cries for help to officials and an investigation was launched, but the incident was not connected to an alleged abduction until the boy’s parents reported him missing shortly before 5:30 p.m.
Nearly 40 hours after being taken off the street, the boy was found by police “dishevelled” but safe inside an abandoned barn north-west of the city.
Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders said after the boy was found, he received a medical checkup at SickKids Hospital before being reunited with his mother and father and released back to his home.
Uncle says boy has no memory of captivity
"When he woke up he found himself in the barn," the boy’s uncle told CTV News Toronto on Friday. "He was in a construction uniform. They put that on him."
"He was asleep the whole time. He doesn’t know anything."
"He remembers being taken and was saying "help, help," but then they pushed him in the car and that was it … He only remembers waking up."
Saunders said the motive for the abduction was his older brother’s involvement in a drug rip off in 2019, with a value of over $4 million.
"(This boy) had nothing to do with this whole occurrence other than being a 14-year-old boy that was a victim of being abducted."
Meanwhile, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) said, on Thursday afternoon, four staff members have been placed on home assignment while an investigation is launched into why the boy’s family was not notified sooner of their son’s absence from school.
"The TDSB procedure says the teacher of each class has to enter the attendance information promptly for every period of the day," TDSB spokesperson Ryan Bird said. "That attendance information should have been entered by the 11 a.m. cut-off time and that would have prompted a phone call to parents."
"Because it wasn't entered in time for that cut-off it (the call) got shifted to later in the day."
‘Various leads' led to boy being found in abandoned barn
At around 10 p.m. Wednesday, Saunders said a vehicle fitting the description of the black Jeep wrangler reported by witnesses was located in Caledon, Ont. by a passerby who contacted the Ontario Provincial Police saying the vehicle was on fire in a park.
Investigators said they believe that vehicle to be the same one used in the abduction.
The vehicle was found a 26-minute drive away from the abandoned barn.
Aerial footage from the CTV News Toronto helicopter, which was captured on Thursday morning after the vehicle had been taken away, showed multiple police vehicles and officers in the area it was discovered.
On Thursday evening, at around 10:30 p.m., police said the boy had been found safe inside an abandoned barn.
"As the investigation continued, utilizing all of the resources that we have available from start to finish, at approximately 10:30 p.m. (the boy) was located in the areas of Heritage Road and Wanless Drive in Brampton, Ont. by members of the Toronto Police Service," Saunders said.
When asked what led officers to the abandoned barn, Saunders said he could not get into the details of the investigation just yet and all he could state thus far is that "tips" and "various leads" were coming in throughout the day.
Saunders added that it was thanks to the cooperation of law enforcement in multiple jurisdictions, including York and Peel regions, which led officers "to locate him in that particular area."
'Most watched young man in Toronto right now'
After the boy was found, he was taken to SickKids Hospital in downtown Toronto for a medical checkup.
"He is now safe with his mom and dad and we have yet to interview him, obviously because we want his well-being to be the priority of this," Saunders said.
"He probably will be the most watched young man in the city of Toronto right now so you would be more than a fool to try to apprehend him or cause any harm to his family."
The police chief added that authorities have not been able to locate the boy’s stepbrother.
"I can tell you that we did not have direct contact with the abductors. The older brother had very limited contact with us. We don’t know where he is. We definitely know that he is not in the Greater Toronto Area and were uncertain of the fact if he is in the province."
Police are appealing to members of the public who may have video surveillance pertaining to this case.
"The investigation is still ongoing. We are looking for the person or persons that are responsible, who were involved in any way shape or form, that caused (the boy) to be abducted, to turn themselves in."
Anyone with further information is asked to contact investigators at 416-808-2510 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).
