Police search North York park for Esther, 14, after 11:30 p.m. sighting
Toronto police are searching the North York area around Earl Bales Park for Esther, a 14-year-old girl last seen around 11:30 p.m. on Friday at a community centre. By Sunday, officers had been in the area for nearly 48 hours and were asking residents to help find her.
Scott Bradbury, the duty inspector, said police are using mounted officers, drones and marine units in the search. He also said neighbours have joined the effort, while police work through a park that covers 127 acres and includes walking trails and the West Don River.
Esther's last known location
Police said Esther has not been heard from since she was last seen in the Earl Bales Park area. She was wearing a green long sleeve top and grey track pants that are loose around the ankle, and she is described as five-foot-two with a medium build and brown hair.
Bradbury said it is unclear what she was doing at the park. That leaves investigators focused on the route around the community centre and the park’s edges, where a young person could have moved into nearby streets or stopped at businesses after dark.
Bradbury's appeal to neighbours
Bradbury urged people outside Earls Bales Park to review camera footage and check coffee shops for a young person who may be asking for food, money, help or directions. “We’re imploring the community and neighbours outside Earls Bales Park to please review video cameras. To look in the coffee shops, to watch for somebody – a young person – who may be asking for food, money, help or directions,” he said on Sunday.
He also said, “I’m asking for the public to help us put eyes on her so we can make sure she’s safe and reunite her with her family.” Police said they are concerned for Esther’s safety, and the search now depends in part on whether anyone in the area recognizes her clothing or appearance from Friday night.
Earl Bales Park search
The park’s size and wooded layout shape how officers are searching it. With 127 acres, multiple walking trails and the West Don River running through it, the area gives police and volunteers a wide space to cover while they continue looking for a missing teen who was last seen late Friday night.
For anyone in the area, the practical step is the one Bradbury laid out: check cameras, look in nearby coffee shops, and watch for Esther or a young person asking for help. That is the fastest way the search can move from a wide-area effort to a sighting police can act on.
