Edmonton police have confirmed that Michael Stanley, a high-risk sex offender wanted on a Canada-wide warrant, has been found in the United States.
Police say that U.S. Customs officials confirmed Stanley, 48, crossed from B.C. into Washington State through the Blaine border crossing on October 7, 2013.
EPS investigators say they know exactly where he is but to their knowledge he is not in custody at this time.
“Law enforcement agencies are aware of Stanley’s whereabouts,” said Chris Hayduk, EPS Behavioral Assessment Unit. "To my knowledge he's not wanted for anything in the United States but the specifics of that will have to be deferred down to the U.S."
Stanley is wanted in Canada and charged with five counts of breach of recognizance, driving without a valid driver's licence, driving without registration and driving without insurance.
Hayduk says that Canada-wide warrants are not extendable into the U.S. and that U.S. authorites would have to have a reason of their own to arrest him.
"All I can say is we notified all of the agencies of his warrants here," said Hayduk.
Police are also not saying how he managed to cross the border.
“The Edmonton Police Service is continuing to investigate Mr. Stanley’s flight from law enforcement and how he gained entry into the United States,” said Hayduk. “His warrants right now are Canada-wide warrants and to my understanding, you know, he’s in the States.
Hayduk says that authorites here would have preferred to catch up with Stanley before he crossed the border.
"For him to be in the States is a concern that those agencies are going to have to follow up," said Hayduk.
Police were first alerted to the situation when Stanley left from Edmonton to Lloydminster on October 1.
He managed to cut off an electronic monitoring bracelet and left it behind. Police found the device on a roof of a building in the community.
From there, police say he went to Lethbridge, where he made contact with members of his family. They say they urged him to give himself up.
Stanley was released from prison in 2011 after serving a 32-month sentence for assault and forcible confinement. He is on Alberta’s high-risk offenders list. He has a long history of victimizing children and seniors.
Edmonton police say they are looking into the extradition process.
"The Edmonton Police Service has notified the appropriate agencies in the United States and will be consulting with Crown prosecutors for the possibility of extradition of Stanley back to Canada," said Hayduk. "The extradition process is, we're still exploring those options. We have some follow up to do with Crown prosecutors on that to determine what that process will look like."
Hayduk says they have provided all of their information on Stanley to U.S. law enforcement officers and that they have no authority to go down and get him.
