Nineteen-year-old Desiree McGill of Ontario was apprehended by RCMP Police Service Dog (PSD) Kane on May 12, 2023, after she fled from a residence with a youth and entered a wooded area in Appleton.
At approximately 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Gander RCMP received and immediately responded to the report of a child abduction. RCMP Police Dog Services were deployed and searched a wooded area of Appleton. A track, picked up by PDS Kane, led police into a residential area where McGill and the youth were located hiding behind a structure on a residential property.
The uninjured youth was safely located.
McGill was arrested and is charged with abduction of a child under the age of fourteen. She was held in custody over the weekend, appeared in court yesterday (May 15, 2023) and was released. McGill is now on a number of court ordered conditions designed to protect youth, including conditions to remain away from schools and playgrounds and not to be in the presence of any person under the age of 16. She is scheduled to attend court on September 12, 2023. Police believe this abduction was not a random act.
RCMP NL continues to fulfill its mandate to protect public safety, enforce the law, and ensure the delivery of priority policing services in Newfoundland and Labrador.
