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Man arrested after child, 7, abducted from Victoria-area summer camp

Staff members attempted to stop the man from leaving with the boy
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(Black Press Media file photo)

Summer camp staff attempted to stop a man as he left a Metchosin property with a child he wasn’t approved to take.

Staff at a camp at Pearson College called 911 shortly after 8:30 a.m. Wednesday (Aug. 11) to report an abduction in progress. A man not known to staff or on their approved pick-up list left with a seven-year-old boy in a silver SUV, according to a release from the West Shore RCMP. Multiple staff went to stop the man – one using their personal vehicle in an attempt to block the entrance to the road.

West Shore RCMP officers located the vehicle nearby, and with the assistance of the RCMP Emergency Response Team, the 46-year-old Sooke resident who was driving was arrested for abduction. The boy, who was known to the man but not his, was returned to his guardians unharmed.

“We wish to commend the staff at the summer camp and nearby residents for their quick actions and reporting,” said Staff-Sgt. Raj Sandhu, operations commander at the West Shore RCMP, in a statement. “This enabled our officers to respond quickly and appropriately, leading us to the best-case outcome, the safe and immediate recovery of the child and the arrest of the suspect.”

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