deadmonton 2006 - other police matters - amber alert issues
The Edmonton Police Service issued an Amber Alert on Sunday, February 26th, 2006 for a woman soon located in St. Albert. The use of the Alert and statements from the woman at the centre of the incident brought the Alert program to public and political attention.
At 10:00 a.m. on the 26th, a call came in to police from residents of a rooming house at 9611 107 Avenue who reported hearing death threats made against a woman before she was seen being dragged into a truck.
Police investigators assessed the situation and felt it prudent to issue an Amber Alert, which are usually made only in cases when a child is believed to have been abducted. The police alert identified the abducted woman as 26-year-old Laureen Hole. Hole later called police from the St. Albert Inn.
An EPS inspector said the Amber Alert played a direct role in locating Hole, and investigators later talked with the woman to get more details about where she was taken and what led to her being at the hotel.
On February 28th, police arrested Hole's former boyfriend, Jason Prudin. He was described in the Alert as a 28-year-old aboriginal who stands 6-foot 6-inches and weighs between 250 and 300 lbs (115 - 135 kg). He was charged with kidnapping and uttering threats of death or bodily harm.
The use of the Amber Alert for an adult was a first for Alberta. Current provincial guidelines set out that it must be confirmed that a child or an individual with a proven mental or physical disability has been abducted; that police believe the child is in danger of serious bodily harm or death; and that there is enough descriptive information to ensure the public can identify the abductee, abductor and/or suspect's vehicle.
Speaking to the Edmonton Police Service-issued Amber Alert, Alberta Solicitor General Harvey Cenaiko said, "There is a policy in place, but again, that policy is open to interpretation." Cenaiko indicated he wanted to extend the Amber Alert system to include the abduction of adults.
In Laureen Hole's case, EPS only partially activated the Alert system. News releases went out but "the actual emergency warning system was not activated to the point where broadcasts were interrupted," a Solicitor General spokesman said.
In an interview with a local newspaper, Hole said Prudin's father heard the Alert and reached her on a cellphone. Hole said she was with Prudin when she got the call, adding "I was not abducted."
Hole said the dispute witnesses observed involved their three children and other issues and she planned to explain her version of events to police. Hole also indicated she spoke to the persons who made the original call to police, who also said they were going to provide revised statements.
The February 26th Alert was only the third time the system had been used in the province since it was adopted in December 2002. Created in 1996, Amber Alert provides rapid response to the child abduction cases. It was named after Amber Hagerman, a nine-year-old girl who was abducted and brutally murdered in Arlington, Texas.
The U.S. Justice Department oversees the program and issues guidelines for its use, limiting it to victims under 17 years of age. Officials from Cenaiko's department met with Edmonton police on March 1st, 2006 to discuss changes to Alberta's application of the program.
The meeting, which included representatives from the Solicitor General's office, Municipal Affairs, Infrastructure and Transportation and the Edmonton Police Service, resulted in maintaining a status quo on use of the Amber Alert system. A Solicitor General spokesman indicated a different program may be developed for public alerts involving adults.