After a months-long search, a Vancouver Island father wanted in a child abduction case has been arrested and brought into custody.
Jesse Bennett, 36, went missing with his seven-year-old daughter on Jan. 23 after being ordered to return her to her mother on Jan. 20, as per a family court order and joint custody agreement.
Police apprehended Bennett without incident on May 24 during a routine traffic stop in Shawnigan Lake, they confirmed in a Tuesday press release.
“As this matter is now before the courts, no further information will be shared,” Island District RCMP wrote in the release.
In February, RCMP on Vancouver Island said they believed Bennett was “actively evading” them. A Canada-wide arrest warrant for abduction was issued in March.
His daughter was found safe on April 20 and dropped off at the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP detachment by someone she knew.
It was one month after her mother had pleaded publicly for her safe return, claiming Bennett had not answered any of her texts or Facebook messages, and his phone was disconnected.
At the time, the girl’s mother believed Bennett had not returned their daughter because she refused to take her out of school in a dispute over COVID-19 mask mandates. Bennett disagreed that she should be wearing a mask for such long hours, she said.