Police have issued and Amber Alert for three-year-old Alvin Barnett, who they believe was abducted by his father, 39-year-old Robert Barnett, in the Elk Valley area of southeast B.C., near Sparwood.RCMP/The Canadian Press
A three-year-old British Columbia boy is tired and hungry, but safe after allegedly being snatched by his father and secreted across the United States border.
An Amber Alert was issued for Alvin Barnett Thursday afternoon, when the boy's dad didn't return him from a scheduled visit.
Police in the Elk Valley, in southeastern B.C., expanded the alert North America-wide after discovering the father, 39-year-old Robert Barnett, crossed the U.S. border into Montana.
RCMP Corporal Dan Moskaluk said expanding the Amber Alert into Montana was the key to finding the boy in the community of Whitefish, Mont., about 80 kilometres south of the Canada-U.S. border crossing where they were last spotted.
"An alert witness and member of that community in Whitefish spotted the vehicle parked on a side street," Cpl. Moskaluk said in an interview. "Both individuals were in the vehicle when it was seen.
"Police attended and there was an arrest made without incident, without too much trauma or critical-incident nature for the child."
He said authorities are working on returning the boy, who was unharmed, to Canada today.
For now Alvin is in the care of police in Whitefish, Mont.
"He was tired and hungry, getting fed probably as we speak," Cpl. Moskaluk added.
The father will also be returned to Canada and could face charges back in British Columbia, he said.
Montana's Amber Alert co-ordinator, Jennifer Viets, said the alert was cancelled Friday morning, shortly after police made the arrest.
"The great news is the child is safe."