The family of a two-year old child who was the subject of an Amber Alert on March 30 was in court for an emergent hearing on the custody of the child.
An emergent hearing allows a party to have the court hear their matter urgently.
The mother, who APTN News is not identifying, turned herself in to RCMP in Amaranth, Man., after learning of the Amber Alert which was issued by Winnipeg police.
According to Winnipeg police, she was charged with abduction without a custody order.
APTN has learned the mother cannot have contact with the child or the father. The mother is set to appear in court again in the summer.
In May, the parents will appear again in court for a triage conference where a judge will look at all the issues and try resolve them in a cooperative way.
Emergent hearings do not usually happen before these triage hearings unless it involves an immediate risk to a party or child, the removal of a child from Manitoba or the loss or destruction of property.
In order to hear the matter, the court must agree that the request fits into one of these three categories.
In this case, the judge believes there is risk for the child.
The hearing was to determine if the father of the child would have sole custody until the hearing in May.
The father was seeking an order for sole custody, as there were no legal protections should the mother take the child again.
The mother’s lawyer argued that because the conditions of her release were that she can’t see the dad or child, this was not necessary.
However the judge says there is a risk, and an interim order for sole custody by the father was granted and the order will be reviewed at the next hearing.
The mother was charged by the police after an Amber Alert was posted for her two year old son.
Police said they were informed of a child abduction and that he might be with his mother and was believed to be headed to Ebb and Flow First Nation.
Police said the mother left a pre arranged supervised visit with the child without legal authorization and in a manner that immediately began to raise concerns amongst other caregivers.
Investigators wouldn’t divulge much information but said that a variety of factors led to the decision to issue an Amber Alert on Mar. 30.
Amber Alerts are rare in the province of Manitoba. This was the first Amber Alert issued by the Winnipeg police according to Carver, and he added there has only been one instance where Manitoba RCMP have issued an Amber Alert.
The essential criteria for an Amber Alert are similar but not identical across various jurisdictions. They include the situation must involve a child under the age of 18, there must be an abduction (lost or missing does not qualify), and investigators must have a reasonable belief that the victim is in imminent danger of death or serious harm.
