Mounties plead for return of missing B.C. girl whose father refuses to disclose her location

The RCMP logo is seen outside Royal Canadian Mounted Police "E" Division Headquarters, in Surrey, B.C., on Friday April 13, 2018. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)

Update:

Police say missing girl Payton MacDonald, 13, was located safe on April 1.

Earlier: 

Mounties on Vancouver Island issued an urgent plea Thursday for the safe return of a 13-year-old girl whose father is in police custody for refusing to disclose her whereabouts to authorities.

Payton MacDonald was last seen on the morning of March 16, when she was climbing into her father's van at the foot of Harbour View Road, near the marina in Ladysmith, B.C. The 13-year-old girl had been living with her father on a sailboat in the area.

She was reported missing the following day after her father refused to comply with a court order directing him to disclose her location to the B.C. Ministry of Child and Family Development.

Her father was subsequently arrested and released after a bail hearing on March 18. He was again arrested on March 23 for continuing to disobey the court order and he remains in police custody where investigators say he is refusing to cooperate with efforts to locate his daughter.

Mounties made a rare public appeal to reporters in Victoria on Thursday, where B.C. RCMP Cpl. Alex Bérubé revealed the girl is thought to be "with someone known to her father."

Police declined to say whether they believe Payton is being held against her will, though they did say they do not have any indication that she is in imminent danger.

"Our primary focus as the RCMP is to locate her and ensure her well-being," Bérubé said. "Right now what we know is that Payton MacDonald is missing."

Payton's father, who has not been named by police, has sole custody of his daughter and her mother "is not in the picture," said Staff-Sgt. Darrell Sandback of the Vancouver Island RCMP's general investigation section.

Sandback added that investigators "are not aware of any siblings" and "are not aware of any other adults" who are close to Payton.

The case of the missing girl has triggered a wave of social media videos, pictures and posts purporting to prove that Payton is safe and on a spring break holiday.

Bérubé said investigators have disproven many of the posts, including one that claims Payton is on holiday "at an unknown camp." He said officers are still "assessing the veracity" of one recently surfaced video and "will follow any leads" that come of it.

"The longer that she goes missing the more our concern grows as to her well-being," Bérubé said.

Payton is described as a white girl who stands five feet, six inches tall and weighs approximately 130 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to contact their local police or the Ladysmith RCMP at 250-245-2215.

Her father's next court appearance is scheduled for April 5.