19-year-old faces multiple charges following Sask. Amber Alert, child abduction

A 19-year-old man from North Battleford is facing a raft of charges after a girl's overnight disappearance sparked an Amber Alert and a frantic search throughout the province last Sunday.

Johnathan Ryann Gunville has been charged with the abduction of a person under 14, unlawful confinement, abandoning a child, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and theft of a motor vehicle, possession of property obtained by crime, evading a police officer and driving while disqualified. He's also facing eight counts of failure to comply with a probation order.

These charges stem from the Sept. 16 Amber Alert, and from two other vehicle thefts on Sept. 19 and 20.

Police said they had reviewed hundreds of hours of surveillance footage from more than 200 businesses, to establish where the stolen vehicle had gone after its theft.

Amber Alert

The Amber Alert was sent out after a SUV was stolen with a six-year-old girl inside. The girl's mother had briefly gone inside a strip mall in North Battleford on Sunday evening when the vehicle was allegedly stolen.

The girl's parents had issued an emotional video plea for her return. They said their daughter was autistic and required regular doses of medication to control her epilepsy.

Police and dozens of volunteers scoured the streets of the Battlefords, before the six-year-old was found at an industrial park two kilometres from the strip mall on Monday morning—​almost 12 hours after her initial disappearance.

Gunville has been remanded into custody and is scheduled to appear in North Battleford Provincial Court on Monday, Sept. 24, at 9:30 a.m.

The Saskatchewan RCMP Major Crimes Unit North made the arrest, with assistance from North Battleford RCMP, North Battleford Provincial General Investigative Section (GIS), North Battleford Municipal GIS, and Saskatoon Provincial GIS.