Girl, 9, found safe following Amber Alert in eastern P.E.I.

RCMP have cancelled an Amber Alert issued early Tuesday morning following a suspected abduction in northeastern P.E.I.

The child involved has been found safe.

RCMP Const. Gavin Moore said the incident started at 1:40 a.m. with a call about an altercation at a home. When they arrived at the home, no one was there. After an investigation, police came to believe that a man had abducted a woman and child at gunpoint, said Moore.

The suspect was considered to be armed and dangerous, so an Amber Alert was issued at 4:30 a.m. AT.

That first alert said both the woman and child had been abducted, but police later learned that the woman had not been taken, said Moore.

'Drop what you're doing' moment

RCMP had a description of the vehicle and information on some places to check.

About an hour after the Amber Alert was issued, the suspect was located, along with the young girl, at a home in Souris. He was arrested without incident.

RCMP issued a tweet at 6:51 a.m. AT ending the Amber Alert.

This was a very challenging and disturbing incident … That it was resolved this quickly and without anybody injured is certainly the outcome we would want to see.— Const. Gavin Moore

"This is kind of a 'drop what you're doing' moment," Moore said of the police response. "Everybody then engages and this is the primary focus.

"This was a very challenging and disturbing incident … That it was resolved this quickly and without anybody injured is certainly the outcome we would want to see."

No charges have yet been determined for the suspect. The man will likely appear in court to face charges in connection to the incident later today.

This is only the second Amber Alert ever issued on P.E.I.

The first, in August 2020, turned out to not involve the abduction of a child. It was the result of a joke that witnesses misinterpreted and reported to police.