A Canadian TV personality has come under fire online for saying his baby daughter had been 'taken' when she was with her mother.
TSN sports reader Dan O'Toole posted on Instagram on Thursday his one-month-old daughter Oakland had been taken from him and he did not know where she was.
"My baby Oakland. I'm praying that whoever has you, is holding you. That whoever has taken you from me, is protecting you. That however (sic) has you, let's you come back into my arms," the post reads.
"I love you Oakland. I can't wait to one day hold you again. My heart is broken. I am broken. To be clear, Oakland is alive, we think. But we don't know. I have a one-month-old child, and I don't know where she is," the now-deleted post read.
His post was widely shared across multiple platforms and initial messages were of support, with people wishing the baby's safe return.
However the online conversation soon turned to anger as it transpired the baby girl was with her biological mother. Local police to Tweeted she had been found safe and well.
"We have looked into the social media post of a local resident/sports broadcaster regarding an alleged abduction of his baby daughter," Durham police tweeted.
"Although this was not reported to us, we can confirm the baby has been/continues to be safe with her biological mother in the Peterborough area."
O'Toole is reported to be in a custody battle with Oakland's mother and was widely criticised for making the matter public on social media.
"So strange. Glad the baby is ok. Seems weird you would post to Twitter about a missing one-month-old before contacting the mom or police," one tweet read.
"Dan O'Toole, ya got some explainin' to do - freaking everybody out," another person tweeted.
O'Toole hit back at the online criticism in a series of now-deleted tweets.
"I still have not seen Oakland or held her. To those that have decided to attack me for fearing for my daughter's safety, I don't know what to say," he posted.
Dave Selby with Durham Regional Police told the Toronto Sun the police wouldn't be taking any further action.
"We looked into it and determined the infant was with the mother," Selby said. "I can't say much."
