Amber Alert rules followed in case of missing girl allegedly killed by mom: RCMP

CALGARY – Alberta RCMP have determined officers did nothing wrong when they didn’t issue an Amber Alert for a missing nine-year-old girl allegedly killed by her mother.

An internal review was conducted into how officers handled the missing persons case of Amber Lucius.

“The review indicates that the officers involved in this matter acted in compliance with Amber Alert protocols,” Cpl. Sharon Franks said Wednesday in a release.

Court documents detail a lengthy custody battle between the girl’s parents. She lived with her father, Duane Lucius, near the small community of Millet, south of Edmonton, and went to visit her mother on Aug. 28.

The documents said that when Laura Coward failed to return their daughter three days later, her estranged husband went to Coward’s home and discovered the woman had moved out.

He then called RCMP to report Amber as missing.

In one affidavit, Lucius wrote that he and the RCMP searched for the girl together. He said he believed Coward had fled the jurisdiction with their daughter.

Mounties said a hang-up 911 call on Sept. 2 led them to the girl’s body in a vehicle parked on a rural road near Sundre, southwest of Red Deer. Coward was located outside the vehicle and arrested.

Investigators have not released how the girl died.

Coward, 47, has been charged with first-degree murder and is to appear in court Oct. 6.