Children at centre of Saskatchewan Amber Alert found safe

REGINA

Two children at the centre of a Saskatchewan Amber Alert were found at a campground in the United States along with their mother and a man wanted by police, authorities in South Dakota said Wednesday.

Benjamin Martin Moore, 50, was taken into custody near Sturgis,

S.D., said Tony Mangan, a spokesperson for the state’s attorney general’s office.

A seven-year-old girl and eight-year-old boy, as well as their mother, were with Moore.

“The children are now being cared for and preparations are being made to get the children back to their rightful custodians,” Mangan said.

Saskatchewan RCMP issued the Amber Alert on Monday evening for the boy and girl.

Mounties said police were concerned because Moore has a history of sexual offences against children and was previously convicted of sexual interference with a minor.

An arrest warrant was issued Tuesday for Moore for failing to report information within seven days of changing his address, which is required for convicted sex offenders.

The alert was extended into South Dakota late Tuesday. Mangan said police located Moore, the children and their mother soon after.

“They found them in fairly good time,”

Mangan said.

“There is no indication that anybody was injured.”

The Turner County Sheriff’s Office in South Dakota said the Amber Alert, which had been extended into that area, has been cancelled.

Mangan said a large motorcycle rally was taking place in the area and many people stay at the nearby campgrounds.

He added a lot of law enforcement were involved in the safety of the rally, but did not say whether that contributed to helping find the children.

RCMP Chief Supt.

Tyler Bates said at a news conference Tuesday that Moore was being investigated by social services when he left with the children and their mother.

Officers went last week to their home in Eastend, southwest of Regina, to question Moore, but found it abandoned.

Bates said officers have also been contacted by a person who is believed to be a victim and encouraged any others to come forward.

Court records show Moore was convicted in 2009 for sexual interference of a minor. He was sentenced in Regina provincial court to two years and two months in prison.

Records also say he served another three months in jail in 2011 after he was convicted of breaching a recognizance order.