PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. — Police say a Saskatchewan girl abducted from a playground last week was dropped off in a wooded area outside the city of Prince Albert.
Insp. Jason Stonechild says the eight-year-old girl walked from the woods to a nearby farm where the owner called police.
"RCMP officers and members from our service immediately attended to this farmyard where officers were able to confirm that we had located our subject of the Amber Alert," Stonechild said Wednesday. "The victim was immediately taken to Victoria Hospital by our members for proper assessment."
He says a canine unit followed the girl's footsteps back to the woods to figure out where she had been abandoned. He wouldn't say how far of a walk it was to the farm or how long the girl had been on her own.
An Amber Alert was issued July 4 after the girl disappeared from a Prince Albert school playground.
Police said the girl was playing by herself when a man entered the park. He was seen on video, obtained from the school, hanging around for about 15 minutes until the child left and he followed.
Police said he was seen talking to the girl against a school wall, then grabbed her and put her into the back seat of his car. He then climbed into the front and drove away.
She was found several hours later.
While police were at the farmyard, they received a call from a business in Prince Albert saying they had someone matching the suspect's description, Stonechild said.
Officers immediately went to the business, which Stonechild wouldn't identify, and arrested the suspect without incident.
Jared John Charles, who is 19 and who has also been identified as Jarrod Charles, is facing numerous charges, including kidnapping, forcible confinement, sexual assault and abandoning a child.
Public assistance following the police department's first Amber Alert was incredible and vital to the safe return of the girl, Stonechild said. People drove around looking for the girl and the suspect's vehicle, he said.
"The response from the public was outstanding and it was immediate," he said. "The investigation now continues."
The girl's mother has said what happened to her daughter shows it could happen to anyone. She said the girl was in the care of her grandmother, who had stepped away for a few minutes to get a bottle of water.
The girl was well-educated about kidnapping, her mother said.
"We have to remember that this was a rare and unfortunate incident in a very safe community," Prince Albert police Chief Troy Cooper said Wednesday.
"The investigation to this point has been focusing on the actions of the suspected offender and not on the actions of the victim or the victim's family."
The girl and her family are being supported by victims' services, he said.
"She's an intelligent and happy young girl and we're fortunate to see she's with her family."
