A woman wearing a nurse's uniform walked into a hospital in Trois-Rivières, Quebec on May 26, 2014, and left with a baby who was born 16 hours earlier. The woman was not the mother of little Victoria McMahon and she drove away with the newborn in a red car with a sign that said "Baby on Board."
The hospital's security guards found a picture of the woman and staff members and patients provided details to municipal police about the suspect and her vehicle. Quebec AMBER Alert Coordinator Jean-Charles Benoit was contacted and he quickly determined the situation met the criteria for an AMBER Alert.
Quebec Provincial Police Sergeant Martine Asselin was at home when she got the call that an AMBER Alert was about to be issued. Asselin is the public information officer for her agency and she knew she needed to be ready to answer questions for the media. "The biggest challenge is to get the alert out as quickly as possible," said Asselin. "We have to be fast but the information has to be good."
This was the 10th AMBER Alert issued by the Quebec Provincial Police and every child from previous alerts had been recovered safely. Flyers with information about the latest alert went out to law enforcement, media, social media, transportation and other AMBER Alert partners.
"You have to be ready before it happens," said Asselin. "You have to have a protocol so everyone knows what to do."
They were trained and ready but everyone knew what was at stake. "Everyone is touched by this type of call," said Asselin. "It is their job but no one is immune to the emotions of a child needing help."
Charlène Plant and three friends saw the alert on Facebook and immediately joined the search. They recognized the suspect as a former neighbor and drove to her apartment and saw her car parked outside. "We just wanted to do something for the night, so we went out to find the car," Plant told a reporter.
They called the police and 50 minutes after the alert went out the baby was recovered safely and the suspect was in custody.
Not surprisingly, Victoria's mother, Mélissa McMahon, thanked everyone on Facebook. "The photo saved our daughter! In less than an hour, the photo was everywhere. You were more than thousands of people who shared the photo of this woman on social media. Know that it was this that saved her, our little Victoria. Every click, every share made the difference."
"The child was recovered safely and returned to her waiting parents within less than three hours," noted Canada AMBER Alert Coordinator Nancy Martin. "It was a proud moment for all involved."
Everyone involved in the Quebec AMBER Alert Program is also a big believer about the impact of social media. "Facebook was the reason this AMBER Alert was a success," said Asselin. "The fact that it went out on social media demonstrates that social media can really help in an AMBER Alert."
The use of social media and the fact it was the first time in recent memory that a child had been abducted from a hospital in Canada drew international attention to the case and the AMBER Alert system. "It was like a movie scenario," said Asselin. "We were very proud of the work by the police and we worked together as a team to use new tools to find a child."
Despite the success, Asselin said her agency will still look for new ways to help find abducted children. "We always can improve," she said. "We need to be sure we are on track and we need to make sure everyone is prepared."