‘It is a tremendous relief:’ Saskatoon police provide details of Wednesday Amber Alert situation

After a search that began at 9 p.m. Tuesday, which included the activation of the Amber Alert system, a four-year-old girl was found safe this morning.

In a press conference in front of Saskatoon Police Headquarters Wednesday morning, superintendent Randy Huisman revealed a brief timeline of the events that led to locating the missing girl.

Huisman said the girl was last seen at a home on the 300 block of Devonshire Crescent at 2 a.m. Tuesday. She was reported missing at 9 p.m. Tuesday.

Police then moved the case to Missing Persons, which included two patrol officers and initial interviews regarding the incident.

It wasn’t determined to meet the criteria for an Amber Alert until 5 a.m. Wednesday during shift change for the service.

The girl was located at a home on the 1900 block of 20th Street at 9 a.m. Wednesday morning. The woman who was pictured alongside her in the original posting had called police to tell them she was safe, and with her.

There are currently no criminal charges, but police say that could change depending on the investigation that is continuing Wednesday afternoon.

During the press conference, Huisman said the woman in question was being questioned by officers at that time.

Huisman said they believe the woman took the child voluntarily and was happy to see the positive outcome Wednesday morning.

“We’ve seen cases in Saskatchewan and across the country where the outcome is our worst nightmare,” he said. “It is a tremendous relief.”

Police are still trying to sift out the details of what happened between the hours of 2 a.m. Tuesday and 9 a.m. Wednesday when the girl was located.

Police also outlined that an assault occurred at the same address around the time of the missing persons report, but they are still investigating if the two incidents are linked.

Homeowner didn’t realize girl was in the house

The woman who owns the home where the four-year-old girl was sleeping says at first she didn’t know what was going on.

Marie Bear, who lives in a home on 20th Street West near St. Paul’s Hospital, says she had been out with her daughter at a casino for most of the night Tuesday.

“I went to the Dunes with my daughter last night, and we didn’t get home until 1:30 (a.m.). I heard a big knock on the door. It was some police knocking but I didn’t bother to open it because drunks always come here and … knock on the door,” Bear said.

She says the next thing she knew, there was an Amber Alert for the four-year-old who she didn’t realize had been sleeping in the basement of the home along with a woman.

“Soon as I know she’s (the woman) sleeping (there), I went downstairs to wake her up and tell her to phone the police, tell her that (the girl) is safe,” Bear said. “That’s what happened.”

The little girl doesn’t live in the home, and Bear said she had no idea why the woman would bring the girl to the home, other than perhaps she had nowhere else to go.

“My grandson must have let her in, and she had nowhere else to go sleep …,” Bear said. “She always comes here for soup and bannock.”

The woman wouldn’t tell Bear where the four-year-old lived, or why she was brought to the home.

— With files from 650 CKOM’s Lara Fominoff