SIU investigating after missing girl and father involved in rollover
Posted April 18, 2016 5:17 am.
Last Updated April 18, 2016 2:33 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is probing the circumstances surrounding a vehicle rollover involving a missing girl and her father on Monday morning.
Julia Dela-Cruz, 4, was taken from her mother’s home in Aurora at around 4:20 a.m.
Police identified the girl’s father, Mario Rodrigues, as the alleged abductor and an Amber Alert was issued.
In a release, the SIU said OPP officers near Barncroft spotted the suspect vehicle and attempted to pull it over.
“The vehicle managed to evade police and several further attempts were made to stop the vehicle. Around 9:30 a.m., the vehicle was travelling along Paul Martin Drive in Pembroke, when it rounded a curve in the road and rolled over.”
The Amber Alert was cancelled after the single-vehicle crash and the girl was airlifted to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Rodrigues, 35, was taken into custody.
The Toronto man suffered minor injuries in the single-vehicle crash.
“(Rodrigues) forced his way into his ex-wife’s residence, took the couple’s 4-year-old daughter without the mother’s consent and left in a vehicle,” York Regional police said in a press release.
The suspect gained entrance to the home by smashing a front window.
The SIU is an arm’s length agency that investigates reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault.
