Editor’s note: RCMP reported the girl was found safe Aug. 22. Her name and image have been removed from the story.
Nova Scotia RCMP say they are continuing their search for a missing 14-year-old, but police say no Amber Alert was issued because there is no information that she was abducted.
In a Wednesday morning news release, police confirmed the youth is believed to be travelling with 47-year-old Darcy Doyle from Mira Gut.
Doyle is described as six feet tall, weighing 190 pounds, with long black hair, a full beard and a moustache, police say.
The missing 14-year-old, a resident of We’koqma’q First Nation, was last seen Aug. 13 in Eskasoni, N.S.
The girl’s grandmother told Global News that the 14-year-old was staying with a Mi’kmaw foster family before going travelling with Doyle, whom she describes as a white man who “can survive in the woods.”
“I’m sad, I’m tired and I’m scared,” she said.
Nova Scotians and Indigenous communities’ members have organized search parties, and taken to social media to call for more efforts in the search for the 14-year-old.
A petition to issue an Amber Alert was launched on Monday, and has over 7,200 signatures to date.
“Systematic racism is alive here in Canada too. Far too many Indigenous women go missing every year in Canada — and little to nothing is done by police,” the petition states.
According to provincial protocol, RCMP Cpl. Lisa Croteau says a person has to be abducted to warrant an Amber Alert.
“For us to be able to say the person was abducted, they have to be under the age of 14, it does not matter on consent. Between the ages of 14 and 16, we have to prove the person went unwillingly,” Croteau says.
“We don’t believe that is the case in this situation,” she says.
Croteau has also confirmed to Global News that Darcy Doyle is known to police.
The 14-year-old’s family believes she has been coerced into leaving with Doyle, who has had a relationship with the family for several years.
She says she doesn’t believe the youth would have gone willingly.
The girl’s grandmother said police have not done enough to find her.
According to a Facebook post by Waycobah band councillor Steven Michael Googoo, the We’koqma’q First Nation has posted a $5,000 reward for information leading to the 14-year-old’s whereabouts.
Police say the investigation is “fluid” and can change at any time.
“We’re following up on all the leads,” Croteau said.
RCMP say they have a partnership with N.S. Department of Lands and Forestry to conduct aerial searches by helicopter.
If police find that the 14-year-old has been abducted and there is imminent danger to her, the possibility of an Amber Alert would be part of the investigation.
Police say the youth is described as five feet one inch tall and weighing around 100 pounds.
She has brown hair, brown eyes, may be wearing glasses and has a rose tattoo on her left forearm.
Police say Doyle and the youth may be travelling on red or green ATVs.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the 14-year-old is asked to contact Eskasoni RCMP at 902-379-2822.
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