from thestar.com:
Body of missing toddler discovered
Autopsy to be performed tomorrow; father of girl may face more charges
By Josh Rubin
Staff Reporter thestar.com
The search for a missing 2-year-old girl has ended in tragedy, as police announced this afternoon they have discovered the body of a toddler believed to be Alexis Currie in Claremont, near Brock Rd. and Highway 7 north of Pickering.
"I'm deeply saddened to have to report to you that at 12:06 p.m. members of the Toronto Police search team found the body of a child we believe to be Alexis Currie,'' said Toronto Police Staff Insp. Bruce Smollet.
Smollet wouldn't say whether there were signs of trauma on the body. An autopsy will be performed tomorrow.
A joint Toronto and Durham Region police search operation began in the hilly and sparsely-populated Claremont area this morning.
The young girl's father, Peter Currie, has been charged with her abduction. There is no word yet on what further charges he may face.
Smollet said searchers, many of whom had been looking for Alexis since she disappeared Saturday, were upset by the discovery.
"It's disheartening. Many of the officers have young families. It hits close to home," Smollet said.
Police have notified Alexis' mother, Maureen Currie, who made a tearful public plea only yesterday for the safe return of her daughter.
"This is a devastating piece of news and it would be to anyone and our hearts and thoughts go out to her,'' Smollet said.
Peter Currie was brought from detention to the scene early this morning. He had earlier refused to aid in the investigation. There is no word if he changed his mind and lent some assistance to searchers today.
Today's ground search covered a six square-kilometre area east of Brock Rd., but police had been searching Lake Ontario's shoreline from Etobicoke all the way to Whitby since Alexis disappeared.
Peter Currie picked up Alexis and her 4-year-old sister Robyn on Saturday at the Scarborough Access Centre, complying with a court-ordered visitation agreement he had recently established. The sisters were to be brought back the next day, but only Robyn was returned to her grandparents' house on Sunday.
Alexis was last seen Saturday morning at Cliffcrest Plaza on Kingston Rd. in Scarborough, with her father and sister. When Peter and Robyn Currie went to a friend's home in Whitby at 12:30 p.m., Alexis wasn't with them.
Peter Currie was arrested at a Kingston Rd. motel Sunday night and charged with abduction, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a dangerous weapon.
