The family of a missing five-year-old boy and his grandparents made a public appeal for their safe return on Wednesday afternoon and police say they are exploring a reward for information in the case.

Nathan O'Brien and his grandparents, Alvin and Kathy Liknes, were last seen on Sunday night and were reported missing on Monday. An AMBER Alert was activated shortly afterward and remains in effect.

“Nathan. Your mom and dad, Luke and Maximus, and your whole family loves you to every star and back. Nathan, you are our superhero right now and we’re going to bring you home very soon,” said Nathan’s dad Rod.

Police have been in the area talking with neighbours and conducting a grid search, but have turned up nothing so far.

Nathan and his mother and brother were helping with an estate sale on Sunday and Nathan stayed behind for a sleepover at his grandparent’s home.

When his mother came to pick him up on Monday morning there was no one there.

Police and family members held an emotional press conference at 3:00 Wednesday.

“To whoever has Nathan, please find it in your heart to drop off our little angel, Nathan, to which he can be rescued and reunited with his brothers and his family,” said Rod O'Brien. “Nathan we love you big, we will see you soon.”

“Nathan I need you to hear my voice right now and I need you to know that mommy and daddy love you more than anything in this world and we can’t be with you right now but the best people that can be with you other than us is your grandparents and I know grandma’s holding you so tight right now and taking care of you and they are doing everything in their power to keep you safe,” said Nathan’s mother, Jen O’Brien.

Investigators who looked over the home say they believe the three did not leave voluntarily.

“The Forensic Crime Scenes Unit did examine some marks on the side of the house and we're in the process of determining their relevance to the investigation," said CPS S/Sgt Doug Andrus. "They went for a distance along the side and the crime scenes unit did examine them."

Police say that the Liknes' had an estate sale on the weekend and are looking to speak to anyone who attended the sale on June 28th and 29th.

“This was a planned move,” said S/Sgt Andrus. “They had sold their house a year ago and leased it back and they were in the process of disposing of their property before they moved on.”

Police are asking people to bring pictures of purchased items to the Parkhill Community Centre at 4013 Stanley Road S.W. on Thursday for a special meeting between 10:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.

Investigators are hoping the images will help them to compare purchased items to those still in the house.

Alvin and Kathy’s son Jeff spoke on behalf of his siblings and reiterated the need for anyone who attended the estate sale to come forward.

“We ask that anyone who was at the sale on the weekend please go to the community hall tomorrow or contact the police," said Jeff. "Mom and dad we want you to know that we love you so much and we are doing everything we can to get you home safely."

Nathan O’Brien, 5, is described as:

  • Caucasian
  • About 91 cm or 3’ tall
  • Blond, curly hair
  • Brown eyes
  • Last seen wearing peach-coloured shorts and a striped blue hoodie

Alvin Cecil Liknes, 66, is described as:

  • Caucasian
  • 182 cm or 6’ tall
  • 90 Kg or 200 pounds
  • Slim build
  • Grey/blond hair

Kathryn Faye Liknes, 53, is described as:

  • Caucasian
  • 160 cm or 5’3” tall
  • 54 kg or 120 pounds
  • Red/brown hair
  • Green eyes

"We have received well over a hundred tips in the last couple of days and we have six detectives assigned just to follow up on those tips so it is working for us, we are getting information and we'll keep it up for as long as we can to encourage people to come forward with information," said Andrus.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call 403-266-1234 or Crime Stoppers anonymously using any of the following methods:

TALK: 1-800-222-8477
TYPE: calgarycrimestoppers.org
TEXT: tttTIPS to 274637