Toddler missing as thousands forced to evacuate

Torrential rains and mild temperatures pushed the Grand River in southern Ontario to breach its banks Wednesday, forcing thousands of people from their homes and touching off a search for a missing toddler.

Local officials near the town of Orangeville, Ont., were bracing for tragedy as they scoured the swollen river for a three-year-old boy who went missing after the car he was riding in got swept off a washed-out road.

Ontario Provincial Police Const. Paul Nancekevell said the boy’s mother was driving near the river at about 1 a.m. on Wednesday when her vehicle plunged into the rapidly rising waters.

“His mom got out of the car, she pulled him from the car, but she lost her grip on him and he was swept downriver,” Nancekevell said. “They were in the middle of fast flowing water.”

Police are combing the area for the boy using helicopters, dive teams and ground search crews, he said, adding they are “keeping a good thought” about his ultimate safety.

One other local official, however, said the effort was being viewed as a recovery operation rather than a rescue effort.

Grand Valley District Fire Chief Kevin McNeilly said weather conditions were treacherous at the time the mother and son, believed to be from the area, went into the water. McNeilly, whose department was handling the search before police took over, said the crew was contending with dramatic spikes in the level of the river.