Alberta to review Amber Alert criteria and day home after death of Calgary boy
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
CALGARY – Alberta’s 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.
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.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 10, 2026.