Jul 2, 2022 • 1 hour ago • 2 min read • 7 comments Edmonton police say a 13-year-old girl missing since June 24 was found in Oregon on July 2. Photo by Greg Southam /Postmedia

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A 13-year-old Edmonton girl who disappeared more than a week ago has been found safe in Oregon, where a man suspected in her disappearance has been arrested.

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Edmonton police say the teenager was found Saturday morning after an investigation involving 10 different law enforcement agencies, including the FBI. Her family was notified of her whereabouts early Saturday morning by police, and family members boarded a flight to begin arriving in Oregon a few hours later, according to a family spokesman. Her father posted on Facebook that he was relieved and grateful for the public’s support and tips, which investigators say numbered in the hundreds. “Thank you all for your efforts. We will be forever grateful to all of you,” he wrote. The teenager was taken to a children’s hospital in Oregon for a checkup, police said. A 41-year-old Oregon man was arrested Saturday near Portland, police said.

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He is not being named until formal charges are filed against him. Edmonton police said he is charged with child seduction, but that other charges may follow. EPS said it is also expected to face a number of charges in Oregon. The girl went missing on June 24 after leaving her home in Edmonton for school. Police said they believe the suspect had been in Mission, BC, outside Vancouver, for three to four days. Police in Abbotsford, BC, said they received CCTV footage on Friday at the request of EPS showing the girl at a fast food restaurant about five kilometers from the Sumas border crossing in Washington state. When Abbotsford officers arrived, the girl and the suspect had already left. Edmonton police said the two met through social media. They did not specify the platform used, but said electronic history records obtained by investigators support the child-enticing charge.

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It is also unclear how they managed to cross the border. “It is still early in the investigation to determine how the contact was made between this person and (the girl) and again if he came here with the sole purpose of taking her back to the United States, which we believe did happen,” EPS said. Insp. Brent Dahlseide. “We would be speculating to say that they crossed together. But I know they moved back together to the US once they got in the entrance.’ Edmonton police have faced questions about why an AMBER alert was not issued for the case. “In the early stages of this investigation, there was no evidence to suggest that he was with anyone, so this file did not meet the criteria,” said Staff Sgt. James Vanderland of the EPS Historic Crimes Section said in a Saturday news release, noting that AMBER alerts require all information of the suspect’s identity, location and vehicle description. Dahlseide said as police gathered that information and prepared an AMBER alert, it soon became apparent the couple were no longer in Canada. “Once we were able to identify the male suspect and a possible vehicle and start working towards the AMBER Alert, the wheels really started to turn on the investigation and they started to pick up speed,” he said. “This is a happy ending to an investigation.” — with files from Keith Gerein [email protected] Twitter @ByMatthewBlack

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