41-year-old man in custody after missing Edmonton teenager found in Oregon

A man is in custody after a 13-year-old girl who went missing on June 24 was found in the United States.

Lila Smith was last seen on Friday, June 24, at around 8:30 a.m. in the area of 131 Avenue and 91 Street, which is next to Killarney Junior High School.

In a news release on Saturday, police said Lila was found in Oregon on the morning of July 2.

Officers said Lila has been taken to a local children’s hospital for a “precautionary examination” and that arrangements are being made to return Lila safely back to her family.

A 41-year-old man is in custody and will be facing charges of child luring. Police said additional charges may follow as the investigation progresses.

Several organizations were a part of the investigation, including ALERT (Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams), Northern Alberta ICE Unit, RCMP, Abbotsford Police, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, CBSA, Gladstone Police (Oregon), Oregon City Police and the FBI.

“Many may be wondering why an AMBER Alert was not issued in this case. At the initial stages of this investigation, there was no evidence to suggest she was with someone, so this file did not meet the criteria,” explains Staff Sgt. James Vanderland with the Edmonton Police Service’s historical crimes section.

“An AMBER Alert was being prepared once we confirmed the credible tip of the suspect’s identity, his location and his vehicle description; however, we were advised that the suspect was no longer in Canada, so an AMBER Alert was no longer feasible.”