48 hours: The law that waits while children disappear

48 hours. The first 48 hours are the most crucial when someone is abducted, or missing, and the faster that time goes without sight of them the darker the end of the tunnel gets.

Six-year-old Darius MacDougall has been missing for more than a week. One moment he was near Tent Mountain and Island Lake Campground, only minutes from the busy Crowsnest Highway, and then he was gone. In the days since, helicopters have searched from the sky, dogs have combed the forest, drones have mapped the terrain, and elite Search & Rescue teams from across Canada have joined the desperate hunt. Yet not a single trace of him has been found. And through it all, one thing was never issued, an Amber Alert.

Under Canada’s current laws, police cannot issue an Amber Alert unless they can confirm an abduction, identify a suspect or vehicle, and determine that the child is in imminent danger. If even one of those conditions can’t be confirmed, no matter how obvious the danger seems, the system remains silent. That silence costs time. And time costs lives.

In Darius’s case, no one saw him being taken. That single technicality was enough to deny officers the power to act quickly, even as the hours passed and fear grew near a major highway and endless wilderness. His story has become another painful reminder of a system that waits for confirmation when what’s needed is action.

Families across Canada know this heartbreak all too well. In 2020, seven-year-old Dylan Ehlers vanished in Truro, Nova Scotia. No one witnessed an abduction; no Amber Alert was issued. His family has been fighting ever since for what they call an “Ehlers Alert,” which is a way to warn the public in non-abduction emergencies, but there is still no national change. In Ontario, the murder of Tori Stafford in 2009 revealed similar failures. Even after police confirmed she had been taken, no Amber Alert went out during those first critical hours when it might have made a difference.

Each case exposes the same truth: a child’s safety should never depend on who saw what. A child’s risk does not depend on the presence of a suspect, but on the danger of disappearing without a trace. Other countries, including the United States, have already modernized their systems, allowing officers to issue alerts based on risk, not cookie cutter definitions. That flexibility has saved hundreds of lives. Canada must do the same.

Darius’s Law would change that. It would give police and the RCMP the discretion to issue an Amber Alert when a child is clearly in danger, and not just when an abduction is proven. It would define “high-risk disappearance” to include cases near highways, borders, or wilderness areas, and those involving children whose age or circumstances make them especially vulnerable. It would also create an independent review board to ensure accountability and consistency, and it would bring every province together under one unified national Amber Alert system.

Most importantly, Darius’s Law would connect Canadians, bringing in truckers, hunters, Indigenous knowledge keepers, park rangers, search-and-rescue teams, and others who know the land and roads best. These are the people who can make a difference when every second matters.

We are calling on our leaders:  Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, British Columbia Premier David Eby, Federal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, and Prime Minister Mark Carney to act now. We urge them, along with the RCMP and all provincial public safety ministers, to support this reform immediately and to issue an Amber Alert for Darius MacDougall.

This is not about blame. It is about bravery and having the courage to admit that our system is outdated and that lives are being put at risk because of hesitation and bureaucracy. Our first responders are doing everything they can, but they are being asked to fight against time without their most powerful tool: the ability to alert the public instantly when a child is in danger.

When a disappearance happens near a highway, or border, every minute counts. An Amber Alert can reach thousands within seconds. Phones buzz. Highways light up. Communities can be on the lookout. Those precious moments can turn fear into action, and action into a child’s safe return.

Darius’s Law is not only about one missing boy in the foothills, it’s about every child in Canada who could disappear tomorrow, and every family who deserves a faster response.

We are calling on Canadians everywhere: parents, teachers, truckers, first responders, and neighbours to stand together and demand this change. Sign the petition. Share it. Speak up. Donate if you can, because when a child disappears, there are no second chances. We only get the time we act on, and that precious time can save a family from a lifetime of grief.