(Winnipeg) A Manitoba woman and her two-year-old daughter are safe again after stopping to help a man who claimed to need help on the side of a road, but then jumped into their vehicle and asked to be driven to Winnipeg.
Police were first called to a hotel parking lot in Portage la Prairie, west of Winnipeg, on Friday afternoon because of a man who was acting erratically and maybe doing drugs in a van.
Officers briefly chatted with the man, but he put the van in motion, rammed their police vehicle, sped off to scare the officers, then rammed the police vehicle again before taking the leak.
A pursuit then began, but it had to be abandoned when the van, which was allegedly stolen in Winnipeg, ended up in the opposite direction on the highway.
Shortly after, another call came in to 911, but it was quickly disconnected. Two voices, one male and the other female, could however be heard, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
After finding out who the mysterious call came from, the RCMP sent officers to the woman’s home, and that’s when they realized she and her daughter had been abducted.
In addition to dialing 911, the woman had also managed to call her husband, who in turn called emergency services. Investigators spoke to him and also found the van abandoned, which allowed them to make the connection between the two incidents.
Investigators thought they were heading to Winnipeg and police were preparing an Amber Alert, but the woman called them again to tell them the man had fled the vehicle and that she and her daughter were in security in the Polo Park area of Winnipeg.
Neither the woman nor the child were physically injured, no weapons were used and the mother did not know the man, who was however known to the police.
Police are now looking for Michael Stephen Klimchuk, 62, of Winnipeg, who will face two charges of kidnapping, two charges of forcible confinement, one of kidnapping a person under the age of 14, three of assault with a weapon on a police officer, one for dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and one for possession of stolen property over $5,000.
The suspect is five-foot-eight, approximately 220 pounds, has blue eyes, long brown hair, and was last seen wearing a camouflage jacket and light-colored pants.
Police said he does not pose an imminent threat, but anyone who sees him or knows his whereabouts should report him to law enforcement immediately.