THUNDER BAY — City police have released further details on the search for an abducted eight-year-old child that ended in his safe recovery Tuesday night, following hours of intensive searching and the triggering of an Amber Alert.
The child was safely located by police around 8:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Det.-Insp. Jeremy Pearson of the Thunder Bay Police Service credited the use of the Amber Alert system, a rarity for city police, with generating crucial information in the search.
“When there’s concern for the safety and well-being of a child, the public engages — this community cares,” he said. “I would suggest the Amber Alert and the heightened awareness of this situation is what helped lead to its safe resolution.”
“It was information received from a member of the public that led us to the location where we were able to safely locate the child.”
The child was unharmed when located, while Pearson described the arrest of the child’s father, as “uneventful.”
Police had scoured locations on the north side of the city, setting up a command post for a search team near the intersection of John Street Road and Valley Street.
The police service received significant support in the search from the OPP, which made available its emergency response team, canine team, and aviation services.
The pair were eventually found outdoors near the command post.
Despite information from police that the father could have been heading toward his home province of Saskatchewan, Pearson said police now believe a vehicle was never involved in the scenario.
The two had last been seen around 11 p.m. Monday.
The father stands charged with abduction, forcible confinement, and breach of release order. He was remanded into custody and was expected to appear in court on Wednesday.
None of the allegations have been tested in court and the accused is considered innocent unless proven guilty.
The search was initiated after a welfare check by police after receiving a call for assistance around 2 a.m. Tuesday.
“From that, an investigation evolved and determined that in fact an abduction had taken place,” Pearson said.
However, he said it took some time for police to come to that conclusion, establishing part of the information base needed to meet Amber Alert criteria.
“I would reassure the public that there’s not a gap between a call for service, and then a blank space leading up to the alert,” he said. “There’s a tremendous amount of police work that happens in that interim — and it’s that police work that in fact supports the use of the amber alert system.”
The happy ending to the search came as a relief a to the large number of police officers from the Thunder Bay Police Service and OPP who participated, Pearson said.
“The sheer number of resources that were allocated towards this search, and the sheer amount of humanity working on this and deeply invested in this — I believe you don’t truly realize what a relief it will be to resolve this safely until it occurs.”
“When one ponders the concern, the potential danger, to have a safe resolution is something that hits at the human core of everyone who was involved.”
