Pair arrested in Ontario after alleged abduction of Edmonton girl

An 11-year-old girl who was allegedly abducted in Edmonton over the weekend has been found safe in Ontario.

Edmonton police say the girl's father and his female companion were arrested after the trio was spotted Sunday evening in a restaurant in Kenora, Ont.

The girl disappeared after spending Friday visiting her father, police said. She was dropped off at Westmount Mall in Edmonton around 11 a.m. and was scheduled to return to her mother's care later that day.

According to police, a woman called the girl's mother and arranged for her to be picked up at around 7 p.m. instead. But when the mother arrived, no one was there. She later discovered that the father had been evicted from the home the day before.

The mother called police around 4:20 a.m. Saturday.

Det. Aubrey Zalaski said an Amber Alert was not issued in the case because it didn't meet the criteria: chiefly, police at no time thought the girl was in immediate danger.

"I believe fully that the dad does love his daughter," Zalaski said during a news conference Sunday morning. "I have no reason to believe that the dad is going to harm his child in any way, shape or form. And that is the comfort in this.

"However, I do have concerns for the father's ability to take care of her needs … and, of course, for her emotional well-being."

Zalaski said Edmonton police had contacted other police agencies as well as Canadian Border Services.

Charges are now pending against the father and the woman who was with him.