Police are working to determine why a Calgary man allegedly abducted his younger sister on Wednesday, taking her to British Columbia.
Investigators said the girl was taken from her home in the community of Greenview by her 19-year-old brother.
“The child’s family woke up to find the girl, her brother and the family vehicle all missing,” S/Sgt. Rob Davidson said during a Thursday news conference.
Through the course of the investigation, officers came to believe the young girl was in “imminent risk of harm.”
“There was a significant amount of concern quite quickly,” Davidson said. “The lack of motivation, the lack of planning, lack of history, lack of contact with the family – all those things started to really make us believe that this person was not able to… care for an eight-year-old.”
Police were able to determine the suspect was driving west, and travelling with their passports.
“That really increased our anxiety around locating her.”
Police were in the process of drafting an Amber Alert when the family’s vehicle was spotted travelling on a highway just outside of Hope, B.C.
WATCH: S/Sgt. Rob Davidson with the Calgary Police discusses what criteria have to be in met for an Amber Alert to be issued
The missing girl and her older brother were taken into custody.
Police said the girl hadn’t been harmed.
“She was in good health and appeared to be fine.”
The girl’s older brother has been charged with one count of abduction of a child under 14, and police said more charges are pending.
He remains in B.C. and will be transported back to Alberta later this week.
“We are still not sure what his motivation was for taking his sister,” Davidson said. “The family is reporting that there is normal household relationships going on. No fights or arguments leading up to this.”
“There’s no history of domestic conflict or domestic violence within the family.”
Police won’t be releasing the name of the accused to protect the identity of the victim and the privacy of the family. Investigators said he wasn’t known to police and lived in the same house as his family.
The young girl was reunited with her father and travelled back to Calgary on Thursday.
RAW: S/Sgt. Rob Davidson with the Calgary Police Service discusses the search efforts used to find a missing Calgary girl, who was safely located in BC
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