Niagara Regional Police say that the five children who were the subject of an Amber Alert on Tuesday have been located and are safe.

The children appear to be in good health and are currently being cared for, police said.

Police earlier said the children, ranging in age from 5 to 14 years old, were believed to have been taken from their home in Jordan, Ont., sometime between Sept. 19 and Sept. 25 by their father.

After an Amber Alert was issued Tuesday afternoon, police said the father was spotted in the Niagara region at about 5 p.m. Tuesday driving a red, four-door 2002 Toyota Camry. However, the children were not seen with him.

Police said the investigation led them to an address in Ridgeway in Fort Erie.

“The vehicle was located parked in the yard of a rental cottage,” police said in a news release.

Police found the missing children inside the cottage. A 22-year-old woman was also found with the father, who hasn’t been charged by police.

The children are subject to a temporary custody order and the father was allegedly in contravention of the order by failing to return them.

The Amber Alert warning system is used when police believe a child under 18 years has been abducted, the child is in danger and there is descriptive information about the child, abductor or vehicle that would aid in locating the child.

Police issued the Amber Alert by 5 p.m. Tuesday and the alert expired later in the night.

Amber Alerts automatically end after five hours as a matter of protocol even though the search continued.

“An Amber Alert brings hypervigilance for the first five hours,” Const. Phil Gavin said. “The cellphone messages, the television, the radio, the road signs stop after five hours because you don’t want to see an Amber Alert become grey noise where people stop listening.

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