Two Alberta boys who went missing near Grande Prairie in July have been found safe in West Kelowna, B.C., after approximately two and a half months.
Alberta RCMP said the children, ages four and six, were located Thursday, September 17, on a rural property. Both were in good health.
"They were in good health, seemed to be happy young children," Staff Sgt. Derrick Gladdish of the Alberta RCMP Major Crimes Unit said Friday.
"They did not seem to be in any sort of distress when they were apprehended."
Their discovery ends a search that stretched across provincial and territorial boundaries and involved approximately 70 Alberta investigators, along with civilian support staff and specialized RCMP units in several jurisdictions.
Our earlier coverage of the Amber Alert is here, and our update as the search expanded is here.
The search began in July
The investigation began on July 7, when RCMP started looking for the two children after they went missing from the Valhalla Centre area, northwest of Grande Prairie.
An Amber Alert was subsequently issued for the six-year-old boy. Alerts also reached British Columbia and the Northwest Territories as investigators searched.
The Alberta Amber Alert was cancelled on July 10, but RCMP made clear at the time that the search itself was continuing.
Police said the alert was being cancelled because there was no longer a reasonable expectation that members of the public in Alberta could act on its instructions. The children remained missing and the investigation continued.
That investigation would continue for another two months.
Police searched across four jurisdictions
The search went considerably farther than Alberta and British Columbia.
RCMP said investigators pursued leads across multiple jurisdictions and conducted searches and follow-up work at several rural properties.
Police resources were coordinated across Alberta, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and Yukon.
At different points, approximately 70 investigators in Alberta, in addition to civilian support staff, worked on the case.
The operation also drew on the B.C. RCMP Southeast District Emergency Response Team, RCMP Federal Policing, Air Services, and officers from the West Kelowna and Kelowna detachments.
As recently as September 17, RCMP said investigators had information suggesting the group had been in B.C.'s Okanagan Valley near Vernon and could have been travelling toward the Kootenays. Police said they were highly mobile and could also have been in northern B.C., Yukon or Alberta.
Later that day, the search ended in the Okanagan.
They were found on a rural property near West Kelowna
RCMP located the boys on a rural property in the West Kelowna area on September 17.
Police used tactical officers during the operation. Castanet reported the police response took place outside West Kelowna, near Peachland.
RCMP have not released further details about how investigators located the property, or what happened during the roughly two and a half months the children were missing.
The force says no additional information about the boys will be released, in order to protect their privacy.
Krista Morrison and Daniel Ludwig were arrested
Krista Morrison and Daniel Ludwig were also located at the conclusion of the investigation and arrested on outstanding warrants.
RCMP said both were taken into custody without incident.
Each has been charged with contravening a custody order.
The case has already moved since the arrests. Morrison and Ludwig appeared by video from jail in a Kelowna courtroom on Friday. A judge ordered them remanded for six days to allow their transfer back to Alberta, where they face the charges.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
What the charge means
Section 282 of the Criminal Code covers taking a child under 14 in contravention of a custody order, where the person doing so intends to deprive a parent or guardian of possession.
It applies when a court order exists and someone acts against it. The Crown must prove both the order and the intent.
The charge carries a maximum of 10 years when the Crown proceeds by indictment.
Where the boys are now
Following their recovery, the children were placed with B.C. child protection services while arrangements were made to transfer them back to Alberta.
Alberta RCMP said they will ultimately be transferred into the custody of Alberta Children and Family Services.
Police have deliberately provided little additional information about the boys. Given their ages and the circumstances of the case, RCMP said no further details will be released.
Morrison and Ludwig are expected to be returned to Alberta as the criminal case proceeds.
Sources
Alberta RCMP, September 18 update
Alberta RCMP, July 10 Amber Alert update
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