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July 2, 2022 • 1 hour ago • 2 minutes read • 7 comments Edmonton police say a 13-year-old girl missing since June 24 was found in Oregon on July 2. Photo by Greg Southam/Postmedia
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A 13-year-old Edmonton girl who went missing more than a week ago has been found safe in Oregon, where a man suspected in her disappearance has been arrested.
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Edmonton police said the teenager was found Saturday morning after an investigation involving 10 different law enforcement agencies, including the FBI.
Her family was notified of her whereabouts early Saturday morning by police, and family members boarded a flight to begin traveling to Oregon several hours later, according to a family spokesman.
Her father posted on Facebook that he was relieved and grateful for the public support and tips, which investigators say numbered in the hundreds.
“Thank you all for your efforts. We will be forever grateful to all of you,” he wrote.
The teenager was taken to Oregon Children’s Hospital for a precautionary evaluation, police said.
A 41-year-old Oregon man was arrested Saturday near Portland, according to police.
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His name has not yet been released pending formal charges against him.
Edmonton police said he has been charged with luring children, but more charges could follow. EPS said he is also expected to face a number of charges in Oregon as well.
The girl disappeared on June 24 after leaving her home in Edmonton for school.
Police said they believe the suspect had been in Mission, British Columbia, outside Vancouver, between three and four days.
Police in Abbotsford, British Columbia, said they obtained surveillance footage Friday at the request of EPS that showed the girl at a fast-food restaurant about five kilometers from the Sumas border crossing with Washington state.
When Abbotsford police arrived, the girl and the suspect had already left.
Edmonton police said the two met through social media. They did not identify the platform that was used, but said online historical records obtained by investigators support the allegation of child luring.
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It is not clear how they managed to cross the border.
“It’s still early in the investigation to determine how the contact was made between this individual and (the girl) and again whether he came here for the sole purpose of bringing her back to the United States, which we believe is what happened.” , said EPS Insp. Brent Dalside.
“We’d be speculating if we said they were crossed together. But I know they moved back together to the US after they entered.
Edmonton police have faced questions about why an AMBER Alert was not issued in the case.
“In the initial stages of this investigation, there was no evidence to suggest that she was with anyone, so this file did not meet the criteria,” Staff Sgt. James Vanderland of the EPS Historic Crimes Unit said in a news release Saturday, noting that AMBER alerts require information about the suspect’s identity, location and vehicle description.
Dahlseide said when police gathered that information and prepared an AMBER alert, it soon became apparent that the couple were no longer in Canada.
“When we were able to identify the male suspect and a potential vehicle and began working on the AMBER Alert, the wheels really started turning on the investigation and began to pick up speed,” he said.
“It’s a happy ending to an investigation.”
— with files from Keith Gerein
mblack@postmedia.com
Twitter @ByMatthewBlack
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