Six kids allegedly abducted in Calgary found east of Toronto: police

By Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press

CALGARY – Calgary police say a man accused of abducting his partner’s six children and driving them to Ontario likely thought he was doing the right thing.

The mother of the children, aged between 18 months and 11 years, called police on Monday to report that the kids and her common-law spouse had disappeared from their Calgary home.

Police say she had given the 49-year-old man permission to look after the children while she was away, but not to leave the area.

Sgt. Darren Smith said there were indications early on that the accused was heading to Ontario, where he has family. He was in email contact with a partner agency, which Smith declined to identify.

“The general tone was the children were in no immediate threat and that he believed he was doing what was right for the kids,” Smith said Thursday.

All evidence pointed to the children being safe, so an Amber Alert would not have been appropriate, he said.

Officers determined it was best not to put out a public statement when the children went missing because the attention may have prompted the accused to take the kids somewhere else, he said.

“Occasionally that can be detrimental to the investigation and will actually cause us not to be able to find the children as quickly.”

The man, who faces six child abduction charges, is not their legal guardian and police are investigating their exact relationship. However, Smith said the man had long been part of the children’s lives.

Police are not releasing his name to protect the identities of the children.

Earlier Thursday, Durham Regional Police said an officer stopped a green SUV with Alberta licence plates in Bowmanville, Ont., the previous afternoon and found it was linked to an abduction reported some 3,400 kilometres away.

Sgt. Bill Calder, with Durham Regional Police, said the kids seem to be in good health, adding they have been placed in the care of the Children’s Aid Society.

Arrangements are being made to bring the children back to Calgary as quickly as possible with the help of the Missing Children Society of Canada in partnership with WestJet.

The man, who was the subject of a Canada-wide warrant, is to be transported back to Alberta in the next week.

Smith praised the work of the Durham police, getting social services involved and making sure the children did not have to see the man being placed into handcuffs.

He added the mother is relieved her children are safe and will be returned to her shortly.

Follow @LaurenKrugel on Twitter

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