Members of the Alberta RCMP have determined that officers involved in the case of Amber Lucius' death acted in compliance with Amber Alert protocols.
Nine-year-old Lucius was found dead in a vehicle on a rural road near Sundre on Sept. 2. Her 47-year-old mother, Laura Coward, has been charged with first-degree murder and remains in custody while awaiting her next court appearance in Didsbury on Oct. 6.
Lucius' father, Duane Lucius, reported Amber missing on Aug. 31 to the Wetaskiwin RCMP detachment. An Amber Alert was not issued.
Coward was originally charged with break, enter and commit theft, as well as abduction in contravention of custody order. But those charges were replaced with the first-degree murder charge on Sept. 8.
Coward appeared briefly in Didsbury provincial court via closed-circuit television on Sept. 8.
Duane said he is devastated and heartbroken by the loss of his daughter.
“The time I had with Amber was cut short, but the time I had with her will always be the most special time of my life,” he said in a statement on Sept. 8.
“A parent never knows when a child may be taken from them, so I urge you to make the time to have fun with your children, and never take them for granted.”
Coward was most recently living in Millet, Alta., but was arrested at the location where the break, enter and theft was committed, which was near where the vehicle was found.
RCMP have not released the location of the break, enter and theft, or where the vehicle was found.
They have also not released information surrounding what Coward and Amber were doing in the Sundre area.
An autopsy was performed on Sept. 3 at the office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Calgary. The results to determine the time and cause of death of Amber have not been released.
RCMP said police officers came across the vehicle while they were following up on a hang-up 911 call made on Sept. 2.
Also according to RCMP, Amber was not living with Coward full-time, and there was a custody matter between the two parents.
Alberta RCMP Major Crimes Unit South is continuing the investigation and anyone with any information in relation to the incident is asked to call the Sundre detachment at 403-638-3675 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
- With files from Joseph Ho
