RCMP in Manitoba are searching for a man they say was involved in what they called the “random” abduction of a toddler and a 25-year-old woman on Friday, both of whom are now safe.
At a press conference Saturday afternoon, RCMP said they are searching for Michael Klimchuk, 62, after a series of events that began in Portage la Prairie Friday afternoon.
Around 4:30 p.m., RCMP responded to a report of a man using drugs and behaving erratically in a hotel parking lot in the city, about 85 kilometers west of Winnipeg.
The man spoke with officers briefly before reversing and hitting a police car.
He then drove the vehicle forward, apparently trying to hit the officers, before getting back into the police car and finally driving off, RCMP said.
They began a pursuit of the vehicle — a van they discovered had been stolen in Winnipeg — but stopped after the driver used dangerous tactics, such as driving into oncoming traffic, police said.
Around 5:20 p.m., RCMP learned of a 911 call from someone who lived east of Portage la Prairie. A male and female voice were heard before the call was cut off.
Officers went to the residence where the call originated, where they learned that a 25-year-old woman and her two-year-old child had been kidnapped.
Their vehicle was also taken, and officers found the suspect’s van nearby.
Information provided to police led them to believe the man was headed to Winnipeg and a search began involving the RCMP and Winnipeg police, including the RCMP Air Service and the Winnipeg Police Helicopter.
Around 6:30 p.m., the woman who was abducted contacted police to say she and her two-year-old daughter were safe in the Polo Park area of Winnipeg. The man who kidnapped them ran from the vehicle, she told police.
The woman and the abductor did not know each other, RCMP said.
RCMP said an Amber Alert had been created and was in the process of being dispatched when the woman contacted police.
They have already identified Michael Steven Klimchuk, a 62-year-old Winnipeg man, as the suspect in the kidnapping and say they believe he is still in the Winnipeg area.
He is six feet tall and 220 pounds, with long brown hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a camouflage jacket and light-colored pants.
He is wanted on several charges, including two counts of kidnapping and forcible confinement, three counts of assault with a weapon on a police officer and possession of stolen property over $5,000.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call their local police immediately.
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