A six-year-old boy from Florida believed to have been kidnapped by his father and grandmother has been found in New Brunswick.
New Brunswick RCMP said the boy was located “safe and sound” in Moncton on Sunday. They did not say where he was found.
The 45-year-old man sought in the investigation was arrested without incident at a business on Plaza Boulevard in Moncton.
The 68-year-old woman, who was also sought in the investigation, was arrested without incident on Village-Des-Cormier Road in Saint-Paul.
“The RCMP would like to thank the public for their assistance,” Mounties said in a statement on Sunday afternoon.
The Miami-Dade Police Department confirmed that the two people arrested by RCMP were the boy’s father and grandmother.
The child had last been seen at his home in Miami on the morning of Aug. 27, according to police in Florida.
Police said the boy’s paternal grandmother, 68-year-old Lilliam Pena Morales, picked him up “in accordance with a court time sharing order.”
The father, 45-year-old Jorge Gabriel Morales, failed to bring the boy home, violating the court order. The child’s mother contacted the police to report the incident.
A Missing Persons Alert was issued for the boy on Aug. 31 and was later upgraded to an AMBER Alert.
On Wednesday, the U.S.-based National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) released video footage showing the three enter a Walgreens store in Houlton, Maine — just across the border from Woodstock, N.B.
According to NCMEC, the boy’s parents were in the middle of a custody battle when Morales failed to return him after a scheduled visit.
Investigators suspected the father may have been planning the abduction for several months, according to the centre.
Both the father and the grandmother were wanted on a felony charge of interference of custody and concealing a minor.
New Brunswick RCMP posted about the case on Twitter in mid-September, saying there is a possibility the missing child and suspects may be in Canada.
“At this time, this situation does not meet the criteria for an AMBER Alert message in our jurisdiction. Police in Canada continue to monitor the situation, and we will update if there is more information that can be shared publicly,” Mounties said in a post on social media.
“The New Brunswick RCMP is always ready to issue an Alert Ready message should there be a need.”
A total reward of $25,000 was being offered between the FBI, the United States Marshals Service and Miami Dade Crime Stoppers.
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