Saskatchewan RCMP say an arrest warrant has been issued for a convicted sex offender at the centre of an Amber Alert for two children, which has been extended into the U.S.
Police say seven-year-old Luna Potts and eight-year-old Hunter Potts, along with their mother, are believed to be in South Dakota with 50-year-old Benjamin Martin Moore.
“We are very concerned about the well-being of those children,” RCMP Chief Supt. Tyler Bates said Tuesday.
“We feel they are in danger.”
Bates said Moore has a history of sexual offences against children and was previously convicted of sexual interference with a minor.
Moore now faces a charge of failing to report information within seven days of changing his address, which is required for convicted sex offenders.
RCMP said Moore was being investigated by social services when he left with the children and their mother.
Officers went last week to their home in Eastend, southwest of Regina, to question Moore but found it abandoned.
Police issued the Amber Alert on Monday evening for the girl and boy. Bates said RCMP enacted the alert after social services received an apprehension order for the children.
Late Tuesday, RCMP issued a release saying the Amber Alert was being extended into South Dakota, and they were working closely with their American law enforcement partners.
Moore is described as being five feet 10 inches tall and weighing 200 pounds with black hair.
Police also said Moore, the children and their mother may be travelling in a 2015 dark blue Chevrolet Equinox with the Alberta licence plate CGC 2492.
Police have received a slew of tips in the case.
Bates said officers have also been contacted by a person who is believed to be a victim and encouraged any others to come forward.
Court records show Moore was convicted in 2009 for sexual interference of a minor. He was sentenced in Regina provincial court to two years and two months in prison.
Records also say he served another three months in jail in 2011 after he was convicted of breaching a recognizance order.
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