An Amber Alert was issued by the Edmonton Police Friday night for a missing eight-year-old boy, and was cancelled Saturday morning following the arrest of the suspect by Okotoks RCMP, showcasing the effectiveness of the system across multiple jurisdictions.
An off-duty Calgary police officer spotted the suspect’s vehicle near Okotoks while driving, an identification made possible through the officer having seen the alert, according to an Edmonton Police spokesperson, Patrycja Mokrzan.
Okotoks RCMP then made the arrest early Saturday morning, according to Constable Chantelle Kelly, RCMP media relations.
The 8-year-old boy was allegedly abducted Friday at 2:50 p.m. from Waverley Elementary School in Edmonton by his mother, Brianne Hjalte.
The Amber Alert was issued around 9:30 p.m. Friday night and updated after 11 p.m. after police became aware that the suspect had switched vehicles.
The update included a description of the vehicle Hjalte was driving, as the Edmonton Police Service believed they had travelled to Calgary and that the boy was in imminent danger.
Okotoks RCMP arrested Hjalte early Saturday morning, and the Edmonton Police cancelled the alarm around 6 a.m. upon the release of a statement that the alert had been resolved.
The EPS stated that the boy was found unharmed near Okotoks at 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning. Hjalte remains in custody and is facing a charge for abduction, and the boy will be returned to his father.
“We were able to safely recover this 8-year-old because of this system,” said Edmonton Police Staff Sgt. Ashley Emerson at a media availability on March 16. “So we’re very happy to have it and I believe the majority of citizens are more than happy to assist us in those investigations.”
Similar to the response to an Amber Alert in Ontario a month ago, some Alberta residents took to social media to voice complaints about the disturbance, but according to Edmonton Police they stand by the system.
“It’s definitely beneficial and it is typically successful in helping to find the individual, so it is definitely a tool that we will continue to use,” said Mokrzan. “If individuals don’t wish to receive the alerts they can take actions on their part, but that’s their choice.”
In this particular case, the alert is considered a vital part of the happy outcome as the Edmonton Police did receive calls from the alert with information.
“We did receive some information through the Amber Alert,” she said. “From the information I have I do believe that off-duty police officer had seen the Amber Alert and it just happened that he was in the area and saw this vehicle and he contacted Okotoks RCMP, and they’re the ones who affected the arrest.”
As for the complaints that the alert was issued too lightly seeing as the child was with his mother, Mokrzan said that was not the case and that Amber Alerts are used sparingly because it can be difficult to meet the criteria.
“From the policing side, it’s determined whether the criteria are met for an Amber Alert, and all of the criteria has to be met for the police to issue an Amber Alert,” she said. “That [criteria] includes that the individual has to be in danger, and that can take some time to determine.
“…You can’t just meet four of the five, all five have to be met to be able to issue an alert.”
Mokrzan said the required investigation into the abduction owes for the six-hour delay in issuing the alert from the time of abduction.
“In between the 3 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., when the decision was made there were several investigative steps that took place to determine whether an Amber Alert should be issued.”
