Edmonton police have issued Canada-wide warrants for a 42-year-old father accused of abducting his two young children, and who may have travelled into Saskatchewan.
Scot MacDermid faces two counts of abduction in contravention of a custody order. The charges involve his daughter Lesley, 9, and son George, 6. The Edmonton Police Service announced the warrants in a news release Wednesday.
Neither of the children have been seen since Aug. 28. Police say MacDermid was last seen that day at Manning Town Centre, a shopping plaza in northeast Edmonton. He was reported missing along with both children on Sept. 8.
Investigators later learned the three were seen in Lloydminster, on the Alberta/Saskatchewan border, at about 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 28. They were with a man police could not identify at the time. He has since been identified and officers have spoken with him.
Police say the family’s direction of travel beyond Lloydminster remains unknown. In a Sept. 17 appeal, EPS said the three may have been seen in Saskatchewan or Manitoba. Investigators asked residents in both provinces to come forward, and the Saskatchewan RCMP was listed as a second point of contact.
A Canada-wide warrant allows any police agency in the country to arrest MacDermid, no matter which province he is found in.
EPS has not issued an Amber Alert. Police say investigators reviewed available evidence and found the case does not meet the criteria for one to be issued. Under national standards, officers must believe a child has been abducted and that the child faces immediate physical danger.
“Finding Lesley and George remains our top priority,” said Staff Sgt. Robert Davis of the EPS Child Protection Section. Davis said an Amber Alert is only one tool available to police and is not the investigation itself. He said officers want the public to know they are working to find the children safely.
MacDermid is described as 5-foot-5, about 160 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.
Lesley is 4-foot-4 and weighs roughly 45 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes.
George is 4-foot-2 and also weighs about 45 points. He has brown hair and brown eyes.
Police say none of the three should be approached.
Under the Criminal Code, abduction in contravention of a custody order applies to children under 14. The charge carries a maximum of 10 years in prison when prosecuted as an indictable offence.
Anyone with information can call Edmonton police at 78-423-4567, or dial 377 from a mobile phone.
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Brook Wagner, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Medicine Hat News.