Regina police say new mapping technology helped find missing boy

Program points officers to potential search areas

A special mapping program guided Regina police in their search for a non-verbal eight-year-old boy who went missing from a public school on Tuesday.

Police set up a command centre and pulled in more resources shortly after the boy was reported missing around noon, said Sgt. Andree Sieber, who works with the missing persons unit and uses the new technology.

"In this program, we enter specific information which relates to the missing person, such as their age, their cognitive abilities. And then what this program does is it gives us different search areas that we can begin our search," Sieber said.

"The location where this little boy went missing [was] vast — lots of houses, lots of back alleys, lots of areas that our little person can hide if they're scared."

The program gave police suggestions for places to search for the boy. They then used security video from the area to see which direction he went, she said.

"There was that area still being searched in an ever-widening circle when he was found in the grey area, sort of outside the search areas," she said. "We had investigators still searching in other areas when he was located."

Fifteen police units were involved in the search, which is about 80 people, Sieber said.

"We had drone operators that were systematically going through the areas that we had identified for our priority search areas. We had our air support unit, which was involved … right from the beginning and looking for our little person."

Officers set up perimeters, hoping the boy would go through them, she said.

"We had other members that went into the area systematically searching every single street, every single yard, any outbuilding … under decks, that type of thing."

Police told bus drivers and cab drivers about the missing boy so they could also keep an eye out. Other members of the public also pitched in as the hours ticked by.

"People were reaching out, asking how they could help. People were calling in tips for us, which became extremely helpful," Sieber said.

Police said officers found the boy near Ross Avenue and Winnipeg Street shortly after 5:45 p.m. He was taken to hospital as a precaution but was found to be in good condition and is now safe and with his family.

Associate Producer, Indigenous Pathways

Randi LaRocque is a Métis woman working as an associate producer with the Indigenous Pathways program. She can be reached at randi.larocque@cbc.ca