amber alert toronto

People in Toronto are turning off Amber Alerts after last night's investigation in Brantford

A two-year-old girl is safe and her father is in police custody this morning after an alleged abduction attempt that triggered an Amber Alert around 3 a.m. in and around Toronto.

Police in Brantford, Ontario issued the alert early today after a 37-year-old man and two female adults were seen leaving the city in a vehicle with the young child.

The alert was called off around 4:15 a.m. after the girl and her father were located at a residence in nearby Hamilton. The father, who surrendered the child unharmed after about an hour of negotiations with police, was arrested at the scene.

Three other adults had been arrested "in relation to the case" at traffic stop around 2 a.m. that evening.

Brantford Police announced on Twitter around 6:20 a.m. that the investigation is continuing, though it is not yet known if any charges will be laid.

No word yet on how many people, if any, still dared to call 911 with complaints about cellphone notifications in the middle of the night — though some did pop off on Twitter.

And yet, for every ragey tweet about the inconvenience of being woken up by a terrifying, air raid siren noise, there were many more people preemptively calling them out.

Yes, as the public conversation intensifies around Amber Alerts and the (improper) 911 calls they inspire, so too does the virtue signalling.

Many on Twitter are now taking it upon themselves to show those who complain how to turn off the alert sound on their phones.

Others are simply enjoying the inevitable internet smackdowns.

All in all, the system does work, and it would appear as though people are beginning to understand that — or at least know enough by now to stop complaining about it openly on Twitter.

Lead photo by

Hannah Alberga


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