B.C. Amber Alert cancelled, 2-month-old child found safe

Mounties in Surrey, B.C., say the two-month-old child who was the subject of an Amber Alert Saturday afternoon has been found safe. In a news release issued after the alert was deactivated, Surrey RCMP offered more explanation for what prompted them to issue it in the first place. Mounties said they responded to a call in the 7700 block of 146A Street around 6:30 a.m.

When officers attempted to pull over a white 2002 Chevy Suburban in connection with the case, it failed to stop, police said. “Based on the information available, criteria for an Amber Alert and the imminent concerns for the well-being of a two-month-old child, an Amber Alert was activated at around 12:25 p.m.,” police said in their release. “As a result of tips from the public following the issued Amber Alert, police were able to locate the suspect and child in Chilliwack, B.C.”

Police said they arrested the 28-year-old suspect without incident, and he remains in custody. The province-wide Amber Alert was cancelled roughly 90 minutes after it began. Authorities have removed the names and images of the victim and suspect, as is standard practice in such cases.

CTV News has done the same. Amber Alerts are issued “only for the most serious, time-critical child abduction cases,” according to the BC RCMP website[1]. The explanation adds that such alerts are “not intended for cases involving parental abductions, except in life-threatening situations.”

Amber Alerts can only be activated in B.C. when all of the following conditions are met:

• The victim is under the age of 18
• Police have reasonable grounds to believe that the victim has been abducted
• Police have reasonable grounds to believe the victim is in imminent danger
• Police have obtained enough descriptive information about the victim, abductor and/or the vehicle involved
• And police believe that the alert can be issued in a time frame that will provide a reasonable expectation that the child can be returned or the abductor apprehended

Saturday’s was the second Amber Alert issued in B.C. in 2023.

The first was issued in July and led to a 10-day search for two children police said had been abducted by their mother.

The children were found safe in rural Alberta on July 29, and the mother and her boyfriend were each charged in the case[2].

References

1. ^ according to the BC RCMP website (bc-cb.rcmp-grc.gc.ca)
2. ^ were each charged in the case (bc.ctvnews.ca)