Police negotiating with suspect after missing boy foundLast Updated: Tuesday, August 1, 2006 4:31 PM CT CBC News Police in Saskatchewan are negotiating with a convicted sex offender at an abandoned farm after a massive search for two youths resulted in finding one of the boys alive and well.
Police said they were negotiating with 35-year-old Peter Whitmore. They also said that 14-year-old Jordan Bruyere of Winnipeg was with Whitmore at the farm and is apparently in good condition.
Zachary Miller of Whitewood, Sask., was found near Kipling, Sask., about 170 kilometres southeast of Regina.
Earlier Tuesday, RCMP confirmed that 10-year-old Zachary Miller of Whitewood, Sask., was found at the farm near Kipling, Sask., about 170 kilometres southeast of Regina.
"We now have Zachary with us and we are reuniting him with his family," RCMP spokeswoman Heather Russell said. "He appears to be in good condition."
Police said a resident of the Kipling area spotted an abandoned van that matched the description of the vehicle police had been searching for. While the person was investigating, a young boy ran out of a farm building, located about 17 kilometres east of Kipling.
Police immediately cordoned off the area and an emergency response team was dispatched, said Russell.
The two boys disappeared from Whitewood Sunday. Police issued an Amber Alert after Zachary disappeared and also issued a Canada-wide arrest warrant for Whitmore for abduction.
Whitmore a no-show for hearing
Whitmore has spent time in prison for sex crimes involving children. He served 16 months in custody after being convicted in Ontario in 1993 of abduction and sexual offences involving four boys.
Just nine days after he was released, he took an eight-year-old girl from Guelph, Ont., to Toronto. He received a 56-month sentence for a sex offence involving the girl.
His most recent prison sentence, for violating terms of his probation, was served in Chilliwack, B.C., and ended in June 2005.
B.C. authorities successfully applied for a court order, good for one year, to monitor his movements within the province.
Whitmore revealed he was planning to move to Alberta and authorities in that province were alerted, but he failed to show up for a June 29 hearing.
Residents in Topsail, about a 20-minute drive from St. John's, N.L. told CBC Tuesday that Whitmore moved into the community in late June but left shortly thereafter. Whitmore reportedly told locals that his wife had died and that he was looking to bring his two young children to the area.
Whitmore's former lawyer, Daniel Brodksy, said he can't believe the convicted pedophile was allowed to travel freely from province to province.
"It's amazing that with Peter's history — where even his own defence lawyer says he's a high-risk, high-needs individual who can live in the community but only if he's properly supervised — how you can let the conditions of his supervision expire," said Brodsky.
While there was joy for the Miller family Tuesday afternoon, the Manitoba family of Jordan Bruyere was still waiting anxiously for good news.
Earlier in the day, a Whitewood resident said he had met with Whitmore and Bruyere on July 28 and the boy appeared to be in good physical condition.
Kevin White, who has a car dealership in the town, said a man whose van needed a tire came in to his business accompanied by a youth. White said he later saw photos on the internet and confirmed he saw Whitmore and Bruyere.
Jordan's aunt phoned him last night to find out what happened.
"I basically told them he didn't seem to be physically abused," White said. "There were no bruises or anything. He wasn't visibly upset. He was just very quiet."
Peter Robert Joseph Whitmore, 35 years oldConvicted child sexual predator
Canada-wide warrant issued in abduction of Saskatchewan boy
Last Updated: Monday, July 31, 2006 4:01 PM PT CBC News
The RCMP have issued a Canada-wide warrant for a pedophile with a string of sex assault convictions who is believed to have abducted 10-year-old Zachary Miller in Saskatchewan.
In addition to the cross-country alert, police have charged Peter Robert Joseph Whitmore, 35, with abduction.
Police put out an Amber Alert for Zachary Miller, 10, who went missing from his Whitewood-area home Sunday. (RCMP/Canadian Press)Police say Zachary was last seen Sunday afternoon near his home in Whitewood, Sask.
The boy is described as four feet six inches tall, 70 pounds, with red hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing black track pants with a red and white stripe and running shoes.
Police said Whitmore, a repeat sex offender who lives in Morinville, Alta., had been seen in the Whitewood area over the past few days.
Peter Robert Joseph Whitmore, 35, is being sought in connection with the boy's disappearance.(RCMP/Canadian Press)"The suspect has also been in contact with the victim's family in the last few days, as well," said Sgt. Tammy Patterson.
Heather Russell, an RCMP spokeswoman, told CBC News the RCMP wants all police officers across Canada to be aware of the
search underway. Police don't know the suspect's direction of travel after leaving the Whitewood area, Russell said.
"We do believe there is potential for harm," Russell said.
(CBC)
Whitmore is described as six feet tall, white, with a heavy build, brown hair and blue eyes.
The RCMP said Monday afternoon they have received 80 tips from the public so far and are following up on all of them.
May be with aboriginal teen
Police believe 14-year-old Jordan Bruyere of Winnipeg is travelling with Peter Robert Joseph Whitmore, the man charged with the abduction of a 10-year-old Saskatchewan boy.
Al Balantyne, the boy's stepfather, said Monday that he last saw his stepson during a drive to Saskatchewan last week with a co-worker.
When their vehicle broke down in Brandon, Balantyne said he took the bus back to Winnipeg to get money, leaving his stepson with the co-worker, whom he'd known for a week.
The boy and Balantyne's co-worker have not been seen since.
When police showed Balantyne a picture of Whitmore, Balantyne identified him as the co-worker.
The teenager's grandmother, Caroline Bruyere, is wondering why an Amber Alert was not issued then.
"When we knew that my grandson was with a stranger, I don't think everybody should have assumed it's OK," she said. "I think right away there should have been proper authorities trying to know where he is."
Winnipeg police said specific criteria must be met before an Amber Alert can be issued, and it appears those guidelines were not met in the Bruyere case.
Searching Saskatchewan countryside
On Monday afternoon, police were seen searching the countryside just south of the town, which is about 175 kilometres east of Regina.
Whitewood Mayor Malcolm Green said people in town are feeling fear, anger and sadness.
"We've never had any problem, any incidents like this," he said. "With this happening, it has everybody on edge right now."
Whitmore may be driving a 1988 blue Dodge Caravan with wood panelling and an Alberta plate.
Whitmore has been jailed several times for crimes involving children. He served 16 months in custody after being convicted in Ontario in 1993 of abduction and sexual offences involving four boys.
Just nine days after he was released, Whitmore took an eight-year-old girl from Guelph, Ont., to Toronto. He received a 56-month sentence.
After his release in November 2000, Whitmore was found less than one month later with a 13-year-old boy in a Toronto motel.
His sentence for that offence was one year in jail.
In 2002, Whitmore fled to British Columbia after he was accused of more parole violations in Ontario, including befriending a five-year-old boy. When he was arrested by police in B.C., Whitmore was found to be carrying latex gloves, duct tape and pictures of young children.
He was given a three-year sentence, including 12 months of psychiatric treatment at Kingston Penitentiary.
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