Case of missing Kienan Hebert is child abduction
Posted Sep 10, 2011 08:54:01 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SPARWOOD (NEWS1130) – RCMP say the case of missing three-year-old Kienan Hebert is a child abduction. The suspect was also involved in a second attempted child abduction on the same day Hebert was snatched from his home Tuesday evening.
Mounties are certain the child didn’t wander away from his bed on his own, as was initially suggested as a possibility earlier this week. An Amber Alert was extended for 24 hours on Saturday afternoon on day four of the search.
“Speaking to whoever has Kienan right now. We are just asking please bring Kienan to a safe place right now. Okay. Like a gas station or a store parking lot where he is visibly seen and you can just drop him off there. Walk away. We just want him safe. Kienan is only three-years-old right now, and as you know and we know, Kienan can’t speak. So he can’t tell us who you are. This is your chance now to get away. All we want is Kienan to come back with us and to be safe in our arms again. Thank you,” says Paul Hebert, Kienan’s father.
The Amber Alert has also been extended into Alberta, as the search continues for three-year-old Kienan Hebert.
“What we’ve done is work together with Alberta Emergency Alert System to put an information alert on their website, which also puts a message on the Facebook page and through some electronic highway signs that did not have it on prior,” says Sgt. Patrick Webb.
The 46-year-old suspect in this case, Randall Hopley, has a lengthy criminal record and yesterday his mother made a tearful plea for her son to surrender to police.
For a fourth day, up to 500 searchers will be in and around Sparwood today trying to find any sign of Kienan and Hopley.
Sarah Gasparetto is from a town just outside of Sparwood but now lives in Calgary. She and a friend are organizing a group to search some areas off the beaten path.
“Growing up there gives us a perspective on all the little nooks and crannies that are hidden in the valley. We probably know about more places that a person who has just moved there.”
She says everyone wants to make sure little Kienan returns home to his family. “It’s been really hard. It’s stressful and you just want to be there and help people and hold people. It’s definitely been very taxing.”
Criminal code changes
Sparwood’s former mayor wants to see the criminal code changed after Kienan Hebert vanished from his home Tuesday night. David Wilks is now the MP for the area and he wants tougher penalties for repeat offenders like Randall Hopley.
Wilks was an RCMP officer and is familiar with the name Randall Hopley. The suspect has been convicted on several charges over the years that range from property crimes to sexual assault.
Wilks is considering writing a private members bill pushing for longer sentences for people with lengthy rap sheets. “They haven’t learned the first time, then obviously they didn’t learn and that means a lengthy period of incarceration is probably needed. If they haven’t done it through rehabilitation then incarceration is the way to go.”
He adds the people of Sparwood know how to handle a crisis after deadly mining accidents and the tragic deaths of eight snowmobilers three years ago.
