Father of Ontario girl found safe after Amber Alert won’t be charged, police say

No charges will be laid against the father of a five-year-old girl who was the subject of an Amber Alert on Tuesday, but was found safe in Markham, Ont., according to York Regional Police.

Soloman Jaffri, 25, has been released from custody, police said Wednesday.

The alert was issued after Jaffri signed his daughter out of her classroom at Armadale Public School in Markham, some 30 kilometres from downtown Toronto, at approximately 2 p.m. ET, after the mother called police and said she was concerned.

Police initially said Jaffri was not supposed to have access to the girl, but the school didn’t appear to be aware of that. In an interview on Wednesday morning, however, Jaffri said no such order exists, and he frequently picks her up and participates in school events.

Jaffri said he and his wife went through an acrimonious separation about 10 days ago, but they remain married. He said he had told his wife in a text message that he intended to pick up their daughter a bit early from school to take her out for lunch with her grandfather, who was visiting from Windsor.

He added he had no idea what his wife may have told police, or why she would concerned for their daughter’s safety.

Jafrri and his daughter were found around 6:30 p.m. after someone recognized them from photos included with the Amber Alert, which was eventually cancelled. Jaffri said he was not aware that the alert had been issued and was shocked when police arrived to arrest him.

He was released around 9 p.m. after several hours of questioning. His father took him back to the family home in Windsor overnight.

Early Wednesday morning, Const. Andy Pattenden told CBC Toronto that Jaffri will not be charged. Pattenden said it is unlikely York police will provide any further details about the incident.

Late Tuesday evening, police in York and Toronto tweeted they were aware people across the province were continuing to receive Amber Alert messages on television screens and mobile phones.

The system is managed by Ontario Provincial Police, who said at the time they were working to “get the alerts cancelled.”