Corporal Frank Roberts of the RCMP knocked on the door of what was supposed to be an abandoned cabin by an Alberta Bible camp, and his police dog, Taz, began to bark. The man inside tried to flee, but he didn't get far.
After seven days, the massive police hunt for Randall Hopley – accused of kidnapping three-year-old Kienan Hebert from his family's home – was over.
The dramatic capture of Mr. Hopley took place near the Crowsnest Lake Bible Camp, just across the Alberta boundary about 20 kilometres from the community of Sparwood, B.C., where the red-haired toddler had been snatched.
Police would not say exactly how they zeroed in on Mr. Hopley, but they had "promising information" by Monday night that allowed them to set up a perimeter, and then move in Tuesday morning, flushing Mr. Hopley out of his hiding spot and locating his beat-up, concealed vehicle.
RCMP Inspector Brendan Fitzpatrick said that even with 150 police involved in the search, Mr. Hopley's intimate knowledge of the area made it difficult to locate him. "He is extremely familiar with the area. He's lived here all his life."
Mr. Hopley is to make his first court appearance on Wednesday in Cranbrook, B.C., and has been arrested for kidnapping and for abduction of a person under 14.
The harrowing week began in the dark of night, sometime after Kienan was put to bed last Tuesday on the second floor of his family's home. By morning, he had vanished, with police issuing an Amber Alert and naming Mr. Hopley as his suspected abductor.
After an emotional and public appeal from Kienan's parents on Saturday, the case took an astonishing twist within 12 hours. After receiving an anonymous 911 call around 3 a.m. Sunday, police found the boy returned to his family's house. The toddler was not harmed physically, and was frolicking outside with his siblings later that morning.
Police are not disclosing where Kienan was held for four days.
With Kienan safe, the focus turned to the hunt for Mr. Hopley, a petty criminal with a long record of offences, including a 1985 conviction on sexual assault that was "in matters relating to children."
Mr. Hopley had been hiding in an abandoned house at the Graymont rock quarry's Summit Plant, an industrial facility where limestone is quarried and crushed in Crowsnest Pass, Alta.
Bob Gresl, manager of the lime plant, said Mr. Hopley was arrested near the site, which is about two kilometres inside Alberta from the B.C. boundary. "He was pretty quiet," Mr. Gresl said. "He was unshaven, that's for sure. He wasn't that big, you know. He was in handcuffs."
The limestone plant is in a mountainous, wooded stretch south of the main highway and west of Crowsnest Lake. Quarry workers used to live in a handful of houses at the plant but they've been abandoned for about a decade, said an employee who declined to give his name.
Two RCMP officers delivered the news to Paul and Tammy Hebert Tuesday morning. "They said, 'Good news. We got him,'" Mr. Hebert recalled. "They were pretty happy too. We knew that he'd get caught. It was just a matter of time."
It has been seven days of frantic worry, followed by the intense joy of reunion – and now the security that Kienan's alleged abductor is behind bars. "The community's safe now once again and we can get back to living our lives," Mr. Hebert said.
Kienan, as well as the other children in the Hebert family, was anxious to get back in their home and he seems to have adjusted well after his ordeal, Mr. Hebert said. "It's like nothing's really gone on."
Mr. Hebert said he has chosen not to hate Mr. Hopley, but to forgive him. "He's a man who needs help."
Margaret Fink, Mr. Hopley's 70-year-old mother, said she was pleased her son had been apprehended. "I'm glad he's back and he's not hurt. I was getting really scared," she said.
Others in Sparwood also expressed relief that the manhunt was finally over. "My kids will sleep in their own bed now," said Betty White, a mother of 10-year-old son Austin and five-year-old daughter Mya. "My son was terrified."
Sharon Fraser, Sparwood's acting mayor, said life in the town may never return completely to its previous innocence. "This is one of the hardest lessons all of us have had to learn, that we can't leave our doors unlocked and we can't let out children just run and we know that they've maybe only gone to the neighbour."
With reports from Renata D'Aliesio and Robert Matas