Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have confirmed that the father of a six-year-old boy who was the subject of an Amber Alert this week is in hospital after suffering an unspecified injury while in police custody.
The 41-year-old man appeared in an Ontario court on Saturday morning and was to be transferred back to Quebec later in the day.
According to OPP spokesperson Carolle Dionne, he was taken to hospital for assessment and his transfer back to Quebec will depend on his medical evaluation.
Dionne did not divulge the nature or extent of the injuries, or if they were self-inflicted.
The Amber Alert was issued Thursday after the six-year-old boy vanished from St-Eustache, Que. The boy’s father was apprehended in Ontario nearly 24 hours later. By then, the body of the boy’s mother had also been discovered in the family home.
There is no word on what charges he will be facing.
Ontario Provincial Police say an investigation in that province is ongoing.
In Quebec, meanwhile, provincial police are combing an area around Lachute for a missing 71-year-old man who previously used the car in which the missing child was found safe.
Quebec provincial police Sgt. Claude Denis says a ground and air search is currently underway for Yvon Lacasse, adding that finding him is considered a top priority for the investigation.
Lacasse is described as bald, with brown eyes, five-foot-six and 155 pounds.
— With files from Michelle McQuigge The Canadian Press
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