Vancouver police defend delay between alleged abduction and Amber Alert

A three-year-old allegedly abducted by his mother from BC Children's Hospital Monday was missing for nearly 11 hours by the time an Amber Alert was issued, a delay Vancouver police say was due to a variety of factors.

A three-year-old allegedly abducted by his mother from BC Children's Hospital Monday was missing for nearly 11 hours by the time an Amber Alert was issued, a delay Vancouver police say was due to a variety of factors.

Amber Alerts have five criteria that must all be met before they’re issued and only for “the most serious, time-critical child abduction case,” according to RCMP. In addition to the requirement that the victim is a minor whom police believe has been abducted, police must also have grounds to believe the child is in "imminent danger," and have enough information to release a description of the people involved.

Timing is also a factor, and police must "believe that the alert can be issued in a time frame that will provide a reasonable expectation that the child can be returned or the abductor apprehended."

Asked about how and when the decision was made to send an alert in Monday's case, Vancouver Police Department spokesperson Tania Visintin provided CTV News with an emailed statement.

“We had information at the start of the investigation that issuing an Amber Alert at that time would put the safety of the child in jeopardy,” wrote Const. Tania Visintin in an email. “Once we had information that the child’s safety was no longer at risk, an Amber Alert was issued.”

When CTV News asked for further explanation, Visintin replied that they had to weigh the mother’s mental state, whether she could go into hiding, and if investigators could find the pair without going public.

“Once all investigative avenues were exhausted, and we were satisfied that all of the Amber Alert criteria were met, the Amber Alert was issued,” she said.