Missing 5-year-old northern Ont. girl found, mother charged
Police say five-year-old Nakina Boyer was located Saturday.
On Jan. 20 shortly after 7 p.m., Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) initiated a traffic stop on a silver pickup truck travelling westbound on Highway 17 near Town of Dryden in northwestern Ontario.
“The pick-up truck initially attempted to evade police but eventually later stopped,” police said in an update Sunday afternoon.
Both Boyer and her mother Jeanette Niganobe, 47, were passengers in the vehicle found nearly 1,200 kilometres away from where the were reported missing on Monday.
As a result of the investigation Niganobe has been charged with abduction in contravention of a court order.
Additionally, the driver a 68-year-old man from Blind River, Ont. has been charges with abduction of a person under 14, failing to stop for police, flight from a peace officer, speeding and driving a vehicle with cannabis readily available.
Both Niganobe and the driver remain in custody following a video bail hearing that was held in Dryden.
None of the accusations has been proven in court.
The Search
On Jan. 15, East Algoma OPP received a missing person report for both Boyer and Niganobe after they departed the mother’s residence in Mississauga First Nation, east of Sault Ste. Marie and failed to attend a scheduled appointment.
On Jan. 16, police requested the public’s assistance in locating the mother and daughter, providing descriptions of both individuals and advising they have ties to Batchewana First Nation and Sault Ste. Marie.
"I do know police are currently working tirelessly on this and consider it a priority,” said OPP Const. Phil Young in an email to CTV News on Friday.
“There are many police agencies currently involved with the investigation and Toronto Police Service is one of them.”
No Amber Alert
Police did not issue an Amber Alert for the missing child stating it did not meet all four criteria required for the alert.
In order for an Amber Alert to be issued, the following criteria must be met:
- Police believe a child under 18 years of age has been abducted
- Police believe the child is in danger
- There is descriptive information about one or more of the following: child, abductor and vehicle
- There is a belief that an immediate broadcast alert will help in locating the child
"We do know that Jeanette departed with the child and is evading police," said Const. Young on Friday.
"We can say that Nakina was taken by Jeanette, but at this point believe she is still being cared for."
When Niganobe is found, she will be charged with abduction in contravention of a court order, Young said.
The father
CTV News spoke with Boyer's father, Fred Robinson in an online video interview on Friday from Toronto where he had travelled on a tip that Niganobe and his daughter had been seen there.
He said he was granted full custody on Monday after a three-and-a-half-year court battle and Niganobe was given visitation every other weekend.
Fred Robinson (Boyer) and his daughter Nakina. (Supplied)"We had a Zoom court appearance Monday the 15th at 9 o'clock in the morning in which the judge decided for Nakina's safety, she'd be better off in my care," Robinson said.
The Ministry of the Attorney General has not yet provided confirmation of the custody order to CTV News.
Robinson filed the missing persons report on Jan. 15 after receiving a call from police advising that Mississaugi First Nation had contacted them and advised they were worried about Niganobe fleeing with their daughter.
He said Nogdawindamin Family and Community Services and a band rep from Mississaugi First Nation went to Niganobe's home and found no one there.
"They were gone and they seen suitcase, wheeled tire marks (in the snow) leaving the house going into a vehicle," Robinson said.
Robinson questioned the police’s decision not to issue an Amber Alert.
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The investigation
According to police the investigation into the incident is ongoing and more information will be released “when it becomes available.”
“The OPP would like to thank their policing partners, the public and media partners for their assistance in this investigation,” police said in Saturday’s news release.
– With files from CTV News Northern Ontario videojournalist Eric Taschner and CTVNorthernOntario.ca digital content specialist Chelsea Papineau
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