Missing Canadian boy found alive on abandoned farm

TORONTO - A 10-year-old believed to be one of two boys abducted by a convicted paedophile has been found alive at an abandoned western Canadian farm, and police were negotiating with the suspected kidnapper, officials said yesterday.

Zachary Miller, who disappeared from his home on Monday, ran to safety from a building on the farm near Kipling, Saskatchewan, after a resident of the small town had spotted a van and went to investigate, police said.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Miller was in good condition and reunited with his family in Whitewood, Saskatchewan, not far from Kipling in the southeast region of the province.

Police told reporters near the farm they had made contact with suspected abductor Peter Whitmore, 35, and were attempting to negotiate his surrender.

The other boy believed to be travelling with Whitmore, 14-year-old Jordan Bruyere, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, was still with him and apparently in good condition, police said.

Bruyere had been left with Whitmore by his stepfather after the car in which the trio was travelling broke down on a Manitoba highway and the stepfather, who had known Whitmore for only a short time, went to get help in a nearby city.

Police launched a national manhunt after Miller was reported missing and they realised Whitmore was a suspect in the case.

Whitmore has been convicted of sexual offenses against at least seven children across Canada since 1993. He has served numerous prison sentences and been rearrested within weeks of his release on several occasions.

Hours before Miller was found, Whitmore's former lawyer issued a televised plea for him to surrender. "Put the kids on a bus to any big city, walk yourself into any police station," lawyer Daniel Brodsky said.

The man who discovered the van said he called police after realising it fit the description of a vehicle they were looking for. Miller ran to safety after Mounties had arrived on the scene, he said.

"I was fairly sure it was him, and quite relieved to see he was OK," Pat Beaujot told CTV Newsnet television.

- REUTERS