

Codi Wilson and Chris Fox, CP24.com





Police in Calgary say that a man who abducted six children who were left in his care and drove them to Bowmanville “believed he was doing the right thing” and posed no “immediate threat.”

The 49-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday afternoon after an officer spotted his vehicle in a parking lot near Waverley Road and Baseline Road and decided to run his plates.

After discovering that the man was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant, the officer arrested him.

The children, who ranged in age from 20 months to 11-years-old, were then placed in the care of family in Durham Region after officials from the Durham Children’s Aid Society were brought in to confirm that the home was a safe environment.

Discussing the case with reporters on Thursday, Calgary Police Sgt. Darren Smith said that the man had previously been in touch with a partner agency in Alberta via email and had said that he was caring for the children. Calgary Police in turn decided not issue an Amber Alert after determining that the kids were not in danger.

“By the time he reached out to us we were already aware this had occurred but it did give us reason to believe that the children were not in any danger,” Smith said. “The general tone was that the children were in no immediate threat and that he believed he was doing the right thing for the kids.”

Smith said that the man was the common-law partner of the children’s mother and had known them for their whole life but had “no legal authority whatsoever” over them.

Smith said that the children had simply been left in the care of the man in Calgary while their mother was away.

The man, however, allegedly left Alberta on Sunday or Monday with the children, despite not having the mother’s permission to do so.

Smith said that the man has family in Durham Region and likely brought the children to Ontario because he was familiar with the area and had roots in the province.

Police in Calgary decided not to issue an Amber Alert, in part because they felt the children were safe and in part because they had a good idea where the man was.

“When we put out a notification that is to try to get information on where that individual is. We knew where he was,” Smith said.

Children to be reunited with mother

The children have been left in the care of family in Durham Region but are expected to be reunited with their mother in Calgary as soon as possible, Smith said.

Meanwhile, the officer who spotted the man and children on Wednesday is being credited with helping to bring the ordeal to a safe conclusion.

"I will be the first to credit the officer with some great work here," Sgt. Bill Calder told CP24 on Thursday morning. "We did find the kids all in good health."

Investigators said in order to protect the identity of the children, police can’t release the name of the father, who appeared in court in Oshawa today for a bail hearing.

The man has been charged with six counts of abducting a child under the age of 14.

“The kids, we made sure we took into account the sensitive issue unfolding before them and made sure the kids were protected from seeing that process," Calder added.