By Angela Brown

Mayor applauds volunteers who helped during Amber Alert

Sep 18, 2018 | 4:00 PM

The Town of Battleford’s mayor said some moving words at council Monday, thanking the community for coming together for a massive search in response to Sunday’s Amber Alert.

The incident began when a family’s SUV was stolen from outside a mini mall in North Battleford. A six-year-old girl was seated inside the vehicle at the time. Early Monday morning the child was found inside the vehicle which was abandoned in the bushes at the North Battleford Industrial Park.

When the Amber Alert was first issued many Battlefords residents took part in a coordinated search for the little girl. 

Mayor Ames Leslie said he was proud of everyone’s efforts.

“You never know what the response is going to be with something like that,” he said. “It almost restores the faith in mankind a little bit.”

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Leslie said it wasn’t much of an exaggeration to say that “every street corner, every street, every back alley” had cars going up and down during the search throughout the night.

He said he went out on a search as a volunteer with the Battleford fire department, checking all the back roads and bush lines and ditches in the area.

“Those 16 firefighters are all volunteers,” Leslie added. “They are not paid to be there. They came in; they sacrificed sleep last night.”

He also commended the RCMP, paramedics, members of Battlefords Concern For Youth, as well as area residents for their support.

The mayor said he was relieved to finally see on Facebook Monday morning the little girl was found.

“The response from the community is part of the reason that vehicle never left town,” Leslie added. “I think maybe it stayed here until it was a safe time to ditch it. We got the little girl back and that’s all that matters.” 

RCMP Cpl. Rob King said police are still investigating following the incident.  

He added he appreciates the community’s efforts in searching the Battlefords area following the Amber Alert.

“Anyone wanting to come out and help is always welcome,” he said.  

King added it’s helpful when people are involved in this type of search to also let police know where they will be conducting their search to avoid duplication and so “everyone can try to stay as safe as possible.”    

“Common sense says for a search such as this one was [to] be coordinated, be in groups, check in regularly, and like any other circumstance if you see something that you think is suspicious or potentially dangerous phone 911,” King said.    

Angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow