Hundreds of volunteers spent Thursday scouring the terrain near Sparwood, B.C., for a missing three-year-old boy, as a police helicopter and other aircraft searched from the sky.

Earlier Thursday, RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Dan Moskaluk said that more than 200 volunteers helped with search efforts on Wednesday, and that number grew on Thursday.

"There's been a tremendous outpouring of people offering their time and their assistance as volunteers," Moskaluk told reporters during a news conference Thursday afternoon.

According to Moskaluk, RCMP have received "numerous tips" on the case.

On Thursday, a source told CTV News that surveillance video showed Hebert along with a person of interest in the case, but RCMP have denied the claim.

The source said the video showed Hebert allegedly in the company of Randall Peter Hopley, who RCMP would like to speak to in connection with the case.

Earlier Thursday, the boy's father, Paul Hebert, said "it was like a normal night" when Kienan went to sleep in his Scooby Doo boxer shorts on Tuesday.

"But when we woke up in the morning, it was a whole new day and it wasn't a good one," Paul Hebert, the boy's father, told CTV News Channel on Thursday.

Kienan was nowhere to be found, which prompted his parents to immediately call police. An Amber Alert was issued within hours.

Paul Hebert said the family is grateful for the police response they have received.

He said police are simply "covering all bases right now."

But Hebert said it is out of his son's character to leave the house on his own, though Kienan has occasionally walked down to his parents' and sister's bedrooms in the middle of the night.

Moskaluk said police remain hopeful that Kienan will be found safe and sound. However, investigators have not ruled out the possibility that the little boy was abducted.

Police describe Hopley as a 46-year-old Caucasian male with brown hair, hazel eyes and a birthmark along his hairline. He is also a Sparwood resident.

He is believed to be driving a brown 1987 Toyota Camry with the licence plate 098RAL.

Police are telling the public not to approach Hopley's vehicle if they see it.

Moskaluk confirmed Thursday that Hopley was recently released on probation for a property offence. Details also emerged throughout the day of Hopley's criminal history, including charges of assault, sexual assault and numerous break-and-enter convictions.

Moskaluk would not say what led police to seek him in connection with Kienan's disappearance.

"Certainly if (Hopley) is now aware of these public alerts that are ongoing, we would certainly like to speak to him," Moskaluk said. "And if he would consider attending a local police service and speaking with police on the matter, that would be welcomed."

Hopley's landlord, Orville Sheets, told CTV News that he doesn't believe his tenant is connected to the child's disappearance.

"For one thing, he was here that night," Sheets said of Hopley's trailer. "My son goes to work at six o'clock. His car was parked down here, and I'm sure I heard someone moving in the trailer between eight and nine o'clock.

Sheets did say, however, that Hopley paid two months rent, cleaned his trailer and left on Wednesday morning, claiming he was headed to Alberta for a court date.

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Kienan, Hopley or his vehicle is asked to call 911 immediately.

With files from The Canadian Press and a report from CTV British Columbia's Shannon Paterson