Alberta to review Amber Alert criteria and day home after death of Calgary boy

The Alberta government will review its Amber Alert system and the policies of a Calgary day home after the death of an 11-year-old boy with autism.

The province says the review will assess the criteria that needs to be met for an alert to be issued and will include the perspectives of police, disability advocates and other community organizations.

Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis says the death of Parker Wells was heartbreaking and that the government wants to learn from what happened.

Parker’s disappearance from a northern Calgary day home prompted a massive two-week search that saw hundreds of police officers and civilians scour city blocks and play Disney music to try to find him.

Police had said the boy’s body was found July 29 deep inside an underground pipe system below the Deerfoot Trail freeway in the city’s north end.

Get breaking National news

Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won’t miss a trending story.

While Amber Alerts are mainly reserved for cases when police believe a child has been abducted and is in serious danger, the province granted an exception in Parker’s case due to the specific circumstances.

But the alert didn’t come until two days after Parker was last seen.

“By listening to law enforcement, disability advocates and community partners, we can better understand how emergency alerts are working today and what options should be considered for the future,” Ellis said in a news release on Monday.

Calgary police have said they will also review its response to the case.