Home
World
Canada
- BC
- Calgary
- Edmonton
- Saskatchewan
- Manitoba
- Thunder Bay
- Sudbury
- Windsor
- Toronto
- Ottawa
- Montreal
- NB
- PEI
- NS
- NL
- North
Politics
Health
Arts & Entertainment
- Music
- Film
- Television
- Books
- Media
- Art & Design
- Theatre
Technology & Science
Money
Consumer Life
Diversions
Weather
Your Voice

New licensing option: POST all or part of this article on a web site, intranet or blog.

Toronto police charge man reported abducted

Furqan Muhammad-Haroon was on his way to Dubai

Last Updated: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 | 9:35 PM ET

CBC News

Engineering student Furqan Muhammad-Haroon was allegedly kidnapped in Scarborough on Aug. 22. (Toronto Police Photo)

A Toronto man who disappeared mysteriously in a reported abduction on Aug. 22 has been found and is now charged with public mischief.

Toronto police said Tuesday evening they located Furqan Muhammad-Haroon, 22, in St. Catharines, Ont. He is due to appear Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET in a Toronto court.

Muhammad-Haroon called a friend at about 3:30 p.m. ET on Aug. 22 while driving a green Mazda MPV near Midwest Road and Midland Avenue in Scarborough to say he was being followed.

Police had initially said three men, one with a gun, forced Muhammad-Haroon's car off the road. But no one had reported seeing anything unusual near the intersection at the time of the abduction.

Police said they now cannot corroborate the earlier account.

"We have no evidence to suggest that took place," said Toronto police spokeswoman Const. Wendy Drummond Tuesday. The case is no longer being treated as an abduction.

The Saturday call to his friend was the last time anyone heard from the University of Toronto electrical engineering student.

Muhammad-Haroon was on his way to the airport to take a trip overseas and had withdrawn about $2,000 from a bank account.

Faced with theft charge

In another wrinkle to the case, Muhammad-Haroon was recently fired from his summer job with IBM, arrested and charged with theft under $5,000. He was allegedly caught with a recycling bin filled with IBM hard drives and other computer equipment.

Police did not say whether his disappearance is in any way connected with the theft charges. He is scheduled to appear in court in Newmarket on Sept. 15.

Muhammad-Haroon's parents flew to Toronto from Dubai and begged for his safe return at a news conference on Monday.

"Please come forward if you know anything about my boy, my son," said the man's father, Haroon Muhammad. "Please help us. We want him back."

New licensing option: POST all or part of this article on a web site, intranet or blog.

Internal Links

Daylight kidnapping stumps Toronto police

Video

Melanie Nagy reports: Toronto police charge man reported abducted (Runs: 3:18): Play: Real Media »; Play: QuickTime »

Toronto Headlines

TTC union chief blasts bosses, media and public: The leader of the union representing more than 9,000 TTC workers has come out swinging in defence of the membership.
Trenton colonel's charges spur cold case review: The 2001 slaying of a Nova Scotia woman at CFB Trenton in eastern Ontario is among the cases being re-examined after murder charges were laid against Col. Russell Williams.
4 arrested after shots fired in east Toronto: Toronto police have arrested four teens in an attempted armed robbery of another youth near Coxwell Avenue and Gerrard Street in the east end.
B.C. Lions owner Braley buys Argonauts: Toronto Argonauts co-owners David Cynamon and Howard Sokolowski have completed an agreement to sell the franchise to B.C. Lions owner David Braley.
Giambrone to continue campaign despite affair allegations: TTC Chair Adam Giambrone will stay in the race for Toronto's mayoralty despite his admission that he has been involved in an "inappropriate relationship with a young woman."

Canada Headlines

Health costs push Alberta budget deficit to $4.75B: Alberta's Progressive Conservative government is projecting a record $4.75-billion budget deficit and planning cuts in many departments while increasing health-care spending.
Trenton colonel's charges spur cold case review: The 2001 slaying of a Nova Scotia woman at CFB Trenton in eastern Ontario is among the cases being re-examined after murder charges were laid against Col. Russell Williams.
Neighbours stunned by arrest of Col. Williams: Ottawa resident Michael Gennis was stunned when he found out his new neighbour, Col. Russell Williams, had been charged with killing two women in eastern Ontario.
Olympic spirit will launch B.C. reforms: throne speech: The B.C. government says it will use the province's post-Olympics momentum to drive changes that include offering tax breaks to families with children, reforming education and lobbying Ottawa to amend "Byzantine bureaucratic practices."
Vancouver tap water vies with Olympic sponsor: Vancouver has started a campaign to encourage Olympic tourists to drink the region's tap water instead of buying bottled water, creating a potential conflict with one of the Games' biggest sponsors.

People who read this also read …

Top CBCNews.ca Headlines

Headlines

Trenton colonel's charges spur cold case review: The 2001 slaying of a Nova Scotia woman at CFB Trenton in eastern Ontario is among the cases being re-examined after murder charges were laid against Col. Russell Williams.
Health costs push Alberta budget deficit to $4.75B: Alberta's Progressive Conservative government is projecting a record $4.75-billion budget deficit and planning cuts in many departments while increasing health-care spending.
Ottawa to appeal injection site ruling: The federal government is asking the Supreme Court of Canada for leave to appeal a lower court ruling that sanctioned Vancouver's supervised drug injection site.
Haitian man pulled from rubble: A 28-year-old man has been pulled from rubble in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, claiming to have been trapped there since the massive earthquake on Jan. 12.
Tories need plan for isotope shortage: Ignatieff: Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff accused the Conservative government of having no plan of action to deal with a medical isotope shortage expected to worsen later this month.