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Law enforcement officials in South Dakota found the subjects of a Saskatchewan Amber Alert late Tuesday night, more than 930 kilometres from their home in Eastend.
“The suspect and the children were found at a campground near Sturgis late last night,” Tony Mangan, the public information officer for the South Dakota Department of Public Safety, said Wednesday from Pierre, S.D.
“They were taken into custody without further incident, and the children are safe.”
The Amber Alert was cancelled early Wednesday after the RCMP was informed the children had been found and a suspect – 50-year-old Benjamin Martin Moore – had been arrested.
The alert was issued Monday night on behalf of the Shaunavon RCMP. The Mounties were looking for two children — a seven-year-old girl and an eight-year-old boy — who had disappeared from Eastend in the company of their mother and Moore.
According to the Mounties, Moore has a history of sexual offences against children and vulnerable people.
“We believe that (the children) are in danger in the presence of Benjamin Moore,” Chief Supt. Tyler Bates, the officer in charge of the Saskatchewan RCMP’s South District Management Team, told reporters Tuesday. “We want to locate them as quickly as possible to ensure that they’re brought home safely.”
On Wednesday, Mangan – on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security in South Dakota – provided a few more details on the events leading up to the rescue of the children.
However, he couldn’t say how Moore, the kids and their mother were able to get into the United States.
In a media release issued Wednesday just before 4 p.m., the RCMP said its General Investigation Section got information Tuesday at about 5 p.m., about Moore’s whereabouts and shared it with law enforcement agencies in the United States.
At around 10:50 p.m., an Amber Alert was issued in South Dakota and 90 minutes later, the Meade County Sheriff’s Office found the group.
“There was most definitely a collective sigh of relief amongst all agencies involved in bringing these two young children to safety,” Bates said in the release.
“Obviously, there is a long road ahead and a number of investigative avenues that need to be followed up on. We want to assure the public that this investigation remains a priority for the Saskatchewan RCMP.”
The RCMP release noted that both Moore and the children’s mother are in custody, and that child welfare agencies in both South Dakota and Saskatchewan were working to get the kids back to the province.
During a media conference at RCMP headquarters in Regina on Tuesday, Bates said officers went to a house in Eastend on Aug. 5 along with representatives of the Ministry of Social Services. The visit was to check on the children, their mother and her common-law partner, Moore.
“At the outset of this investigation, there was a well-being check that was taking place,” Bates said. “We found the residence vacated and it’s only since (Monday) evening that the request came from the Ministry of Social Services with respect to the apprehension order (for the children).
“Immediately upon that being obtained, the Amber Alert was sought and obtained.”
Bates said a warrant had been issued for Moore’s arrest on a charge of failing to report information to the Registration Centre within seven days after a change of main or secondary residence. Those reports are required for a registered sex offender.
Mangan couldn’t say whether or not Moore would be facing further charges in South Dakota.
“It’s still in the discussion process,” Mangan said. “The most important thing is that the kids are safe.”
The next steps include finding out where the kids will go.
“The children are now being cared for and preparations are made being made to get the children back to the rightful custodian,” Mangan said. “Also, the investigation continues.”
RCMP corrects timeline
During Tuesday’s media conference, Bates said the RCMP joined representatives of the Ministry of Social Services in executing a search warrant at the family’s house in Eastend on Aug. 2.
In its release Wednesday, the RCMP said that actually happened last Friday. The Aug. 2 visit was for what the media release called “an unrelated investigation” involving Moore that didn’t involve children.
The RCMP said it’s unknown if that investigation will result in Criminal Code charges against Moore.