CALGARY – Police say the search for missing 11-year-old Parker Wells is entering a new phase, nearly two weeks after the Calgary boy disappeared, with investigators shifting away from large-scale ground searches and focusing instead on evidence and investigative leads, as concern for his safety grows.
“We will continue to follow up on tips, re-examine evidence and pursue any new leads that emerge,” Calgary Police chief Katie McLellan said. “If new information identifies an area requiring additional search activity, we are prepared and ready to respond.”
Parker, who is non-verbal and on the autism spectrum, was last seen in the northwest neighbourhood of Thorncliffe on July 16.
Kody Watmough was working in the neighbourhood with a construction crew and believes they may have been among the last people to see Parker before he disappeared.
“He strolled by us, me and the guys were actually excavating the hole behind us,” said Watmough. “I thought it was just the neighbourhood kid.”
Once they learned he was missing, they immediately stopped working to search nearby.
“We stopped all the work here and we started looking ourselves with the guys, scouring the bushes behind the parks,” he said.
Since Parker disappeared, hundreds of officers have searched more than 8,600 kilometres on foot — roughly the distance between Calgary and the Italian capital of Rome — while hundreds of volunteers have also scoured the city looking for the boy.
Investigators described Parker’s disappearance as “deeply unusual.”
Acting Staff Sgt. Scott Guterson said Calgary police receive roughly 5,000 missing person reports each year, including about 250 involving children under 12 and some with special needs. About 99 per cent of those cases end with the missing person being found safe.
“It is our sincerest hope that Parker is still alive,” Guterson said. “But realistically, every day that goes by makes that hope less likely.”
Police said they are pursuing multiple investigative avenues and have not ruled out the possibility Parker’s disappearance could be criminal in nature, while emphasizing there is no definitive evidence to indicate what happened.
The investigation has also renewed debate over Alberta’s emergency alert system, after an Amber alert was issued about two days after Parker was last seen. Because investigators did not believe Parker had been abducted, his case did not meet the legal criteria for an Amber Alert and required a provincial exemption before an emergency alert could be sent.
On her Saturday call-in radio program, Your Province, Your Premier, Danielle Smith said the case has highlighted the need to examine whether police should have greater flexibility to issue alerts for vulnerable missing children.
“I think it’s key to have local law enforcement have the latitude to make that call,” Smith said, adding the province will examine potential changes this fall.
The timing of the alert continues to draw criticism from some community members.
“To me, that was like a slap to everybody. It was like, ‘what?’ Two days later somebody’s been missing. Two days already and now you issue it,” said Kody Watmough.
Police continue to ask residents to search their own properties, including backyards, sheds, under decks and anywhere a child might seek shelter.
With files from CTV Calgary’s Stephen Hunt and Tommy Osborne
