Man in custody after attempted child abduction near Victoria: RCMP

Lights on a police cruiser are pictured in this file photo.

Victoria -

A 46-year-old man is in police custody after allegedly trying to abduct a child from a summer camp near Victoria.

Mounties were called to the Pearson College summer camp in Metchosin, B.C., at approximately 8:30 Wednesday morning.

Camp staff called 911 to report an abduction in progress after a man who is not known to camp staff tried to pick up a seven-year-old boy, according to police.

Mounties say the man, who was not on the approved pickup list for the child, tried to leave with the boy in a silver SUV.

Several camp staff members attempted to stop the man, including one who used their personal vehicle to try to block the SUV from leaving, police said.

West Shore RCMP officers located the vehicle nearby after receiving a separate complaint about a suspicious occurrence, police said. Officers with the emergency response team assisted frontline officers in arresting the man and securing the child.

The boy was physically unharmed and returned to his guardians, police said.

“We wish to commend the staff at the summer camp and nearby residents for their quick actions and reporting,” said Staff-Sgt. Raj Sandhu of the West Shore RCMP in a statement Wednesday.

“This enabled our officers to respond quickly and appropriately, leading us to the best-case outcome: the safe and immediate recovery of the child and the arrest of the suspect,” he added.

A 46-year-old man from Sooke, B.C., is being held in police custody. Investigators say the man is known to the child but is not one of his parents.