A four-year-old boy who was the subject of a B.C. Amber Alert overnight has been located. West Kelowna RCMP, who activated the alert around midnight, confirmed Wednesday afternoon that both the child and his mother were found safe. Authorities previously said they were investigating a reported parental abduction. Const. Ash Puri said RCMP would not be providing further details while their investigation into the incident is ongoing. “We are pleased that the missing four-year-old has been located safely,” Puri told CTV News in an email statement. “At this stage, our primary focus is ensuring his well-being and supporting the ongoing investigation.” Once again, the sending of a loud emergency alert to cellphones across the province while most people were sleeping prompted a wave of complaints on social media. Some commenters said they only wanted to receive a “blaring” notification in the event of an emergency that posed an immediate risk to their own safety, such as an earthquake or tsunami. “Waking up the entire province with the nuclear death siren probably isn’t the most effective solution every time a child goes missing,” one Reddit user wrote. “Not taking away from the importance of these situations, I just feel most people that are laying in bed clear the notification after jolting awake and forget about it by the morning.” According to the RCMP, certain criteria must be met before an Amber Alert is issued, including that authorities have reasonable grounds to believe the victim is in imminent danger. Puri confirmed that was the determination of West Kelowna RCMP investigators, who had assessed “all available information” when they decided to issue the latest alert overnight. Authorities said they would not be discussing the specifics of the case, partly to protect the family’s privacy. “While we understand there is significant public interest in the factors that led to the alert, we are unable to discuss specific evidence or investigative details,” Puri said.
