Toronto toddler found dead after massive search

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It was a tragic story that played out over several hours today. A three year old is dead, after somehow making his way out of an apartment building in the middle of the night, and into the frigid cold.

He was found hours later, but it was too late. Police confirmed Elijah March’s death this afternoon.

The 3 year old’s disappearance set off a massive hunt, starting at 7:30 in the morning when he was discovered missing from his bed. Neighbours pulled together, but even strangers descended on the neighbourhood at Bathurst and the 401 in Toronto.

The police response was aggressive and massive from the early going. More than a hundred police officers joined the search, and shortly after 10 am, some volunteers found Elijah. The initial elation was short-lived, as news sunk in that Elijah had no vital signs. By early afternoon he was pronounced dead in hospital.

Area MPP Mike Colle was at the scene “the mother, the grandmother, his brother, and whole community is totally devastated by this loss which was every parent’s nightmare.”

Surveillance footage shows Elijah leaving at about four a-m, wearing only a tshirt, diaper and boots.