A Saskatchewan man who triggered an Amber Alert last September when he stole a running SUV with a disabled girl in the back seat has been given a 31-month sentence.

Johnathan Gunville had pleaded guilty to several charges, including theft of a vehicle and abandoning a child.

In a victim impact statement at his sentencing in a North Battleford, Sask., court on Wednesday, the parents of the girl — who cannot be identified — spoke about their fear and panic during the hours that she was missing after the vehicle was stolen on Sept. 16, 2018.

"Each hour that passed grew dark, colder and snow-ridden. It was impossible to keep the 'what ifs' out of our minds," they wrote, saying they worried about whether their daughter would be dumped in the river or on the side of a road, or if she missed taking her medication for the first time in her life.

One does not need to speak volumes to impact the world. [Our daughter] did this without saying a word. - Parents' victim impact statement

"The feeling of helplessness was overwhelming and mind-numbing."

The six-year-old girl had been left in the back of her parents' Mercedes when Gunville took it from outside a North Battleford, Sask., strip mall on Sept. 16.

An Amber Alert was issued and the girl — who has autism and epilepsy and is non-verbal — was found unharmed 14 hours later, still in the SUV, a few kilometres away.

The parents wrote in their impact statement that their daughter could never tell them her what life was like for those 14 hours, alone in the dark and away from her family.

They wrote about the sleepless nights that followed, the nightmares and shame and anxiety, with social media comments attacking their abilities as parents.

Man 'has the mind of a 6- or 8-year-old': defence

Court heard that Gunville, who was 19 at the time of the theft and abduction, has an intellectual disability and didn't know the girl was in the vehicle when he took it for a joyride.

Defence lawyer Bill Archer said his now 20-year-old client has the mind of a six- or eight-year-old.

"We're all hoping the best for him. But will he make it? I can't promise that. Nobody can. Can he make it? Hell, yeah."

The Crown wanted a three-year sentence in a federal prison for Gunville. The defence wanted a sentence under two years.

What all that shows to me is that we have a community with a lot of heart and that the community is willing to come together when needed. - Crown prosecutor Lee Hnatiuk

With credit for time served, he still has two years less a day remaining in his sentence. When he gets out of jail, he will be banned from driving for five years.

In their victim impact statement, the girls' parents noted that positive things can emerge from a crisis, with a community mobilizing to help find their daughter.

"It proves one does not need to speak volumes to impact the world. [Our daughter] did this without saying a word."

Crown prosecutor Lee Hnatiuk agreed, saying the incident showed this is a caring community.

"What all that shows to me is that we have a community with a lot of heart and that the community is willing to come together when needed."