The details of this story have been removed to protect the identity of the child.
A boy was found safe after Winnipeg police issued an Amber Alert for the missing two-year-old.
The Amber Alert was issued shortly before 8:10 p.m. Tuesday. Police said they were told of a parental abduction of the boy at about 5:26 p.m.
Police said the mother turned herself in to the Amaranth RCMP station at 9:10 p.m.
The child’s biological mother left a pre-arranged, supervised visit late Tuesday afternoon at a specified location with the child without legal authorization, said Const. Rob Carver.
“Investigators from the WPS Missing Persons Unit investigated the background of the situation, including the legal framework,” said Carver.
“Once it was determined that the child was in an identified vehicle and likely leaving the city, the decision was made to initiate the Amber Alert protocol.”
The mother herself received the Amber Alert as well, which led to her stopping at the RCMP station, said Carver.
“Receiving the Amber Alert caused her to make the decision to head to Amaranth detachment and bring herself and the child to the RCMP.
“I can tell you there is a collective sigh of relief amongst all of my colleagues when when we got that information.”
Despite the fact that the mother “turned herself in,” it doesn’t mean there will be charges, said Carver, noting that sometimes parents are confused about custody agreements.
“I’m not saying that that is the case here, but I am saying that officers look at that and detectives look at that very carefully,” said Carver.
“We are very thankful that the mother in this case made the decision to stop at an RCMP detachment, meet officers and make sure that everyone knew that the child was safe and that she was cooperating.”
Asked why police don’t issue Amber Alerts more often, Carver said there’s a “tight framework … in terms of what is required for us to do this.
“One was we needed an identifiable vehicle and we had that. We were certainly concerned that there was a potential for risk to the child’s safety. And those factors together led us to the Amber Alert decision.”