LETHBRIDGE, Alta. -- Police in southern Alberta say a young boy allegedly abducted by his mother and taken out of the country three years ago is back in Canada.

A brief statement from Lethbridge police says the four-year-old boy returned on Saturday and is in the care of his father, who has sole custody of the child.

The family is requesting privacy and no further details are being released.

Last week, police said the boy's 33-year-old mother had been arrested in Belize.

Police had been searching for the woman since her former husband reported that she had fled the country with their 11-month-old son.

An arrest warrant was issued for the woman, who can't be named under a publication ban, and police had tracked the pair to Mexico, Guatemala and Belize.

Lethbridge police received a tip from Belize authorities in July and managed to find the pair in the town of San Ignacio.

The mother was taken into custody at the Calgary airport on Wednesday, but her son remained in Belize until arrangements could be made to reunite him with his father.

Sgt. Cam Van Roon, primary investigator on the case, said it was a huge challenge navigating foreign bureaucracy despite co-operation from international agencies.