Amber Alert for 3-year-old boy in Vancouver cancelled

A police cruiser is parked outside a Vancouver courthouse on Tuesday, May 26, 2021.

An Amber Alert that was issued in Vancouver for a three-year-old boy late Monday night has been cancelled.

Vancouver police asked for assistance to locate the young boy, saying he was last seen at B.C. Children's Hospital Monday afternoon.

At about 6:15 a.m. Tuesday, the Amber Alert was cancelled.

Vancouver police said RCMP officers found the child and his mother near Calgary, Alta.

"The child is now receiving care and the suspect has been arrested," Vancouver police said in a brief statement.

Alberta RCMP told CTV News that the arrest was made at about 6:30 a.m. local time in the Foothills County area.

A spokesperson said the child and the suspect were found in a vehicle, but could not confirm whether they were alone, as the case is a Vancouver Police Department file.

VPD says more details will be available soon.

ALERT READY

An emergency notification was sent out to cell phones using the alert ready system at about 11:20 p.m. Monday.

However, those living in the Lower Mainland reported significant discrepancies on how they were notified.

Some cell phone users reported their phones did not sound an alarm, but just displayed a push notification.

Others didn’t get notified at all, or received a warning message after RCMP had already cancelled the alert.

When the alert was rescinded, many did not get a notification confirming the emergency had ended.

B.C. law enforcement last used the system back in July, when a gunman shot and killed several people in Langley.

In that case, a notification that the emergency had ended was sent to those impacted.

CTV News has reached out to the public safety minister for comment on the discrepancies.

SECURITY FAILURES

There are still many unanswered questions about how the suspect was able to abduct the child from the hospital.

CTV News has requested comments from the Ministry of Children and Family Development and BC Children’s Hospital.

The drive between BCCH and Foothills county is about 10 hours long and it took law enforcement roughly 18 hours to find the boy.

CTV News is no longer identifying the mother and son by name or photos in order protect the child's privacy and the integrity of any future court proceedings.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.