Police say a two-year-old girl is safe and four people are in custody in connection with an Amber Alert issued in Brantford early Thursday.
The alert, which was broadcast just after 3 a.m. ET on Thursday at the request of Brantford police, said the girl and a 37-year-old suspect were last known to be leaving Brantford at around 12:18 a.m.
Brantford police said they initially responded to a 911 call about an alleged abduction and assault on Bisset Avenue in Brantford.
According to the police statement, an unknown number of people arrived at the front of a residence. When the child’s mother answered the door, the estranged father of the child allegedly broke in through the back door.
Police said the mother confronted the father. She was allegedly assaulted and threatened.
Another resident inside the home reportedly confronted the father and he was then also assaulted, investigators said.
Police said the father then grabbed the two-year-old girl and left the area in a car with three other people.
Officers arrived at the home and found the victims suffering minor injuries.
Investigators said Hamilton police was contacted at around 1 a.m. as officers believed the suspects were possibly at a home in that city.
Officers checked for the suspect and the child at the residence, but they weren’t there.
Brantford police said they were able to make contact with the suspect, but he reportedly refused to tell police his location or return the child.
Just after 2 a.m., Hamilton police said they found the suspect’s vehicle in the city’s south end. Three people were arrested. Meanwhile, the child still wasn’t found.
At around 3 a.m, the suspect was located at a property on Upper Ottawa Street in Hamilton.
Police said an hour later, just before 4 a.m., the suspect surrendered to police and the two-year-old girl was found.
Shortly after that, at 4:15 a.m., an update on the Amber Alert Ontario Twitter page announced the alert was cancelled and the child was “located safe.”
Brantford police said they are continuing to investigate this incident and the circumstances surrounding the four people involved.
The search for the child “transpired smoothly,” Const. Jerome Stewart told the Canadian Press, noting that the child was promptly returned to family members.
Stewart said there was never a risk to public safety.
Brantford police say, Shawn Jason McManus, 37, faces 6 charges related to the incident including abduction of a person under 16, assault, uttering threats, and break and enter.
— With files from The Canadian Press.