Mom of 7-year-old girl allegedly abducted by anti-vaccine dad urges Sask. RCMP to issue Amber Alert
CBC
The mother of a seven-year-old girl allegedly abducted by her anti-vaccine father more than two months ago is urging the Saskatchewan RCMP to issue an Amber Alert, but police say the case doesn't meet the standard.
Mariecar Jackson, of Regina, said she's grateful the RCMP have now charged her ex-husband, Michael Gordon Jackson, with abduction and issued a Canada-wide arrest warrant last week.
But she said the RCMP need to go further and issue an Amber Alert to help find her daughter, Sarah. Mariecar Jackson said she's afraid for her daughter's safety.
"My daughter is away. She has not been seen; nobody has laid eyes on her. She's only seven and she's in a very dangerous situation right now," she said.
Sarah primarily lives with her mother in Regina, but hasn't been seen by her since mid-November, when she went for a visit with her father.
Michael Jackson appeared remotely on an online talk show a few weeks ago and said he took the girl away to prevent her from getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
Mariecar Jackson said her ex-husband is using the vaccine as an excuse to take the girl away.
"He knows how much I love my daughter and she means so much to me. He took her because this is a way of hurting me. I just wanted to ask the public that if you've ever seen my daughter, please call 911 or call the RCMP."
The Amber Alert system provides the public with immediate and up-to-date information about a child abduction through widespread media broadcasts on TV, radio and wireless devices, according to RCMP. Only policing agencies can activate it. The alert asks the public to help with the safe and swift return of an abducted child.
In a statement, Saskatchewan RCMP said the "criteria is not met" in this case at the moment to qualify for an Amber Alert.
According to RCMP, all of the following criteria must be met:
Mariecar Jackson's lawyer, Jill Drennan, said they've asked the RCMP why Sarah Jackson's case doesn't qualify, but have not received a reply.
More than a dozen people interviewed this month by CBC News in Michael Jackson's home community of Carievale, Sask., about 290 kilometres southeast of Regina, said they also feared for the girl's safety. They related stories of confrontations, several involving violence or threats, which they said Jackson initiated.
Another former friend said Michael Jackson often told him about plans to take Sarah away from her mother forever.