Grandmother of missing N.S. kids shares her story — and her son's
Six weeks after Lilly and Jack Sullivan went missing, their grandmother has decided to share her family's story. She spoke with the CBC's Kayla Hounsell.
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Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
11 charged in Toronto taxi scam that allegedly defrauded customers of over $500K
Eleven people have been arrested and charged after a Toronto police investigation into a taxi scam that allegedly defrauded more than $500,000 from unsuspecting customers over 10 months. The 11, accused of being part of a criminal network that exploited members of the public, face 108 charges. At a news conference on Thursday, police said the investigation called Project Fare began last July after police received multiple reports by victims of the taxi scam. Initially, police identified 61 incidents of fraud, but that number quickly grew to more than 300. Det. David Coffey, spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service, told reporters that the suspects masqueraded as taxi drivers using vehicles that were modified to look like licensed cabs. Coffey said unsuspecting customers got into what they thought were legitimate taxi cabs only to find out that they were scammed after they paid their fares. "Unsuspecting victims were picked up and asked to pay for the ride using a credit or debit card. During the transaction, the suspects discreetly swapped the victim's card with a card that looked like theirs. The real card and their PIN is then passed on to accomplices," Coffey said. "These fraudsters used the stolen cards and PINs to withdraw funds from ATMs, deposit fraudulent checks to artificially inflate account balances and make high value purchases, including electronics, gift cards and luxury clothing." At the news conference, police displayed some of the items that the fraudsters purchased and that police seized during the investigation. On May 21, members of the police's financial crimes unit, with help from officers from various divisions, carried out three search warrants at addresses linked to the accused. Police made arrests and seized several point-of-sale terminals, high end clothing, electronics, artwork, several bank cards and vehicles resembling taxis. The suspects include 10 men and one woman from the Greater Toronto Area, ranging from 19 to 50 years old. The charges include fraud over $5,000 and possession of proceeds of crime over $5,000. Police said they are still looking for two male suspects and a female considered a person of interest in the case. News of arrests brings relief to cab company Kristine Hubbard, operations manager for Beck Taxi, said after the news conference that she is relieved that police have laid charges. "I'm just really relieved to know that this was taken seriously and that it's been dealt with," Hubbard said. "When someone defrauds or engages in criminal activity in the name of legitimate services, it's pretty heartbreaking and it's pretty defeating." Hubbard said she has advice for customers. "Nobody's saying no to cash. That's number one. And if someone has a point of sale terminal, it can't accept debit and not credit, right? So our debit terminals or point of sale terminals are clearly branded," she said. "They have the Beck branding on them and they take debit and credit. If somehow a massive cell outage happens, obviously that's affecting the whole city, that might be the case where there's no debit and no credit, but there's never one and not the other." Also, she said customers should never let their debit cards out of sight and it should not leave their hands. Customers should also look for a brand that they trust and look at vehicle numbers to identify legitimate taxis, she said.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
'It feels like I'm grieving him all over again'
A devastating fire at a storage unit in Middleton has seen people losing irreplaceable family keepsakes, including of deceased loved ones. Fortunately no-one was injured in the fire, which the Manchester Evening News understands has involved lithium ion batteries. However, many people have been left grieving the loss of precious keepsakes which any potential insurance compensation will not be able to replace. READ MORE: "I can't change it, but wow am I paying for it": Mum gets STUCK in Turkey after making 'worst mistake of my life' in hotel room while drunk with boyfriend READ MORE: Body found in search for Adeo weeks after going missing as family remembers 'vibrant and talented human being' Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE Among them is 25-year-old Mollie Lord, who had kept some of her late dad Warren's possessions in the unit. She said: "My dad passed away two years ago really suddenly, he got poorly on Monday and died on the Sunday, he was only 48. "He had a big toolbox with all the tools from over the years, he collected Lego, we're talking limited edition pieces. "I thought when I had kids I could pass his Lego on to them so they could have something of his, but now it's probably all gone." Mental health worker Mollie has been left devastated by the fire. "I've been crying since I found out it was on fire," she said. "I'm in shock that it's even happening. "I've not grieved my dad, and it feels like I'm grieving him all over again. I would give anything to sit with his stuff again." Ann Howarth had also stored her late father's belongings in the facility. She said: "This has left me devastated beyond words. My dad raised me himself from being born. He was my everything. He died a couple of years ago. "I decided to pack up all of my personal items, and my daughters and everything of my dad's, on Monday this week. I put it all in storage world in Middleton, everything - paperwork, legal documents, my whole life and all of my memories. "Then just two days later, it goes up in flames. It very much looks like I have lost everything, things I can never get back. "To say that I am broken is an understatement. There are no words to describe it." Engineer Anthony Davies also had precious keepsakes from his late father in the lock-up. "It's stuff that you're never going to get back through insurance," he said. "It's pictures, a watch that he left me, he smoked a pipe and his favourite pipe was in there. He did run for Manchester City years ago and he got a medal, that was in there. "You expect things to be safe don't you?" Luanna Kelly was also impacted by the fire, and told the MEN: "Me and my partner are completely upset and broken. "We have stuff in there that is sentimental and that money can't replace like a picture of my partner's grandma and first holy communion stuff. "We are completely heartbroken." Quan Le shared that he used the facility to help run his business, which has been left devastated by the fire. He said: "I'm really struggling emotionally right now. I couldn't sleep at all last night. I haven't had the strength to go down there and see everything burnt – it's just too much." Crews from across Greater Manchester rushed to the fire yesterday as sickly yellow-tinged smoke belched from the windows. On June 19 the fire continued into a second day, with the roof of the building collapsing, and with it the hopes of many people to recover irreplaceable possessions. A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) said: 'Crews have worked hard overnight to contain the fire at the commercial premises on Old Hall Street, Middleton. 'Six fire engines, the aerial unit and scorpion remain in attendance to tackle pockets of fire and make the building safe in challenging conditions. "Road closures remain in place with nearby residents advised to keep their doors and windows shut." A spokesperson for Storage World, the company which runs the unit, said: "Our Middleton store has suffered a serious fire. Authorities are currently in attendance and we will be contacting customers as soon as the situation has settled and we can assess the damage. This will be no later than Friday afternoon. "Please do not contact us directly but wait for us to communicate with you, as this will allow us to manage the current situation and ensure all customers are given accurate information as soon as possible."
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Claire Bell said 'mom told me to wait' after Quebec toddler found at side of Ontario highway: report
Along with joy and relief at finding three-year-old Claire Bell alive in eastern Ontario after four days of searching come questions of how she survived and why she was alone at the side of a rural highway 150 kilometres from her home in Montreal. Police officially aren't saying much about the case, as their focus moves from the public search into a criminal investigation stage, but published accounts say the girl made a staggering and perplexing statement to her rescuers. I'm waiting for mom, she told me to wait for her 'I'm waiting for mom, she told me to wait for her,' Radio-Canada, CBC's French-language branch, reported Claire telling police who found her. 'Mom told me to wait,' the Journal de Montréal, a daily French-language newspaper reported the girl said. Police officials would not confirm the conversations, saying there is already an ongoing prosecution in Quebec, after the girl's mother, Rachel-Ella Todd, 34, was arrested late Monday night and charged with child abandonment while Claire was still missing. There also may now be a prosecution in Ontario, as the girl was allegedly abandoned about 50 kilometres into Ontario from the Quebec border. Police credit information from the public for helping solve the girl's disappearance. The strange way the girl was reported missing and distressing twists during the search galvanized public interest in the case. Police asked the public to help them track the movement of a grey 2007 Ford Escape, which helped investigators shift their attention into eastern Ontario. The SUV was reported to have been seen in the St-Albert and Casselman area. A drone operated by the Ontario Provincial Police spotted the girl around 2 p.m. on Wednesday in a field along an on-ramp for Highway 417 near the rural community of St. Albert, Ont., about 150 kilometres west of Montreal. OPP officers following behind the drone then swooped in to rescue her. Police said Claire was 'fine,' and described her as being conscious and able to talk. Photos from the scene show her looking stable and well, although a bit startled and unkempt. She was taken to hospital for a medical evaluation as a precaution. 'We were preparing for the worst, I think everyone was,' an Ontario police source said. Officers were overjoyed when she was found. Officers were seen celebrating the outcome of their efforts. 'The last few days, officers and members of the community have held our breath and hoped while we searched,' OPP Acting Staff-Sgt. Shaun Cameron. 'Now we exhale as one, knowing she is safe.' 'This is why we are police,' said Sûreté du Québec Capt. Benoît Richard. Cameron said police would not have found the girl in time without 'critical information' from the public. 'This was a search where we knew, especially given her age, that every hour mattered,' he said. 'This search proves that when a child goes missing, there are no interprovincial boundaries. There is only one goal: to find them.' Claire's father, Matthew Bell, thanked the public and asked for privacy in a social media post. Quebec Premier François Legault described the girl's safe return as 'almost a miracle,' and thanked police as well as members of the public who called in tips. Todd appeared before a judge on Tuesday by video from a police station, represented by a legal-aid lawyer. She was back in court briefly on Wednesday when the case was put off until Friday for a potential bail hearing. Claire was last seen Sunday morning, Father's Day, with her mother, at the apartment where Claire and Todd lived. News that she was missing was revealed about six hours later when her mother pulled into a roadside fireworks and souvenir store about 55 kilometres west of their apartment. Police said she told an employee she had lost her child and didn't know where she was. An enormous search began that shifted and grew from the Sunday missing child report through 72 hours. Hot days with little or no access to water would have posed the greatest risk to the rescued Montreal toddler's survival, a search and rescue coordinator who participated in the search told the Montreal Gazette. 'Water, normally after about three days, becomes a significant concern,' said Dany Chaput, on-site coordinator for the Association of Quebec Volunteers for Search and Rescue. The three days Claire was missing 'were very hot. There was a lot of sun,' he said. Around 120 volunteers under his direction spent three days combing areas near the Coteau-du-Lac exit where police had found the mother's car. Those volunteers 'drank enormous amounts of water and, despite that, had headaches, dizziness.' Claire wouldn't have had the same access to water, Chaput said. 'I don't think she necessarily had access to her primary needs.' National Post with additional reporting by Montreal Gazette and The Canadian Press • Email: ahumphreys@ | Twitter: AD_Humphreys Missing Quebec girl, 3, found safe after bizarre disappearance that led to charge against mother Dehydration posed gravest danger to Claire Bell, search coordinator says Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.
