Randall Hopley, the sole suspect in the abduction of three-year-old Kienan Hebert in Sparwood, B.C., can expect to be charged with kidnapping, police say.

The fugitive had evaded police for nearly a week. He has now been charged with two counts breaching a probation order, and police say they expect he will be charged in connection Kienan's abduction.

"Charges will be laid," RCMP Insp. Brendan Fitzpatrick told reporters at a press conference Tuesday. "He was arrested for kidnapping and abduction of a person under age 14."

He added that police are ecstatic about the arrest.

"I can tell you that this is one of the best days these investigators have seen."

RCMP found Hopley hiding in a cabin at a limestone quarry near Crowsnest Pass Bible Camp, just east of the B.C.-Alberta border, on Tuesday morning.

A K-9 team from Kelowna is credited with capturing the fugitive.

"They had been there overnight, and they had to their credit stayed longer than required," Fitzpatrick sand.

He said the dog teams were checking out old mining buildings at the site, and one of the dogs indicated that there was someone nearby. Hopley's car, a 1987 Toyota Camry, was also found nearby.

Investigators at the scene of the arrest initially believed that Hopley may have had an accomplice.

"There was thought that someone else was involved, but that proved to be wrong," Fitzpatrick said.

"The investigation to date has determined that Mr. Hopley acted alone."

The arrest location is just a 20-minute drive east of where three-year-old Kienan Hebert was snatched from his Sparwood, B.C., home last week.

The disappearance sparked a manhunt that spanned two provinces and was the subject of two separate Amber Alerts.

The young boy was returned to his empty family home unharmed in the middle of the night on Sunday. The little boy was found sleeping on a couch in the living room after police received a 911 call.

Police are releasing very few details about where Kienan was during his disappearance, and say they will not reveal what the youngster has told him.

Paul Hebert, Kienan's father, said he is relieved about the arrest, not only for his own family, but for the entire community of Sparwood.

"We are at ease today now for the community itself. It's awesome – just awesome," he said.

"This is a huge burden lifted off our shoulders. We were very happy to have Kienan back but we were very worried for the community as well. Now that the community is taken care of I think we can rest easy tonight."

The Hebert family did not know Hopley.

After Kienan was returned home, the search to find the suspect intensified. Police and searchers gathered at a muster point in Sparwood early Monday morning and set out on ATV's, on foot and in a helicopter to search the area.

The search continued in Crowsnest Pass on Tuesday morning and at about 10:30 a.m. a flurry of RCMP activity was reported in the community, indicating that something big was happening.

Hopley, who is a convicted sex offender with a string of convictions dating back to the 1980s, including break and enter and assault charges, is considered the only suspect in the abduction.

He remains in custody at the Sparwood RCMP detachment.

‘Tell us the story,' mother pleads

The suspect's mother, Margaret Fink, told CTV News that she is happy to hear Hopley has been caught.

"I would like him to listen to all the people -- the cops -- and tell us the story of what happened," she said.

"I hope he tells the full story, that he tells everybody the whole story."

She said she believes her son is probably very frightened right now, but she's glad he's safe.

"I hope he gets some help right now," she said. "He should have got the help before. He'd been getting into too much mischief."

Sharon Fraser, the acting mayor of Sparwood, said her tight-knit town is celebrating the news.

"My God, I am just elated and jubilant," she told CTV News Channel.

Fraser said while there is relief, the small town has learned a very harsh lesson about security: "That we can't just leave our doors open. We always have a false sense of security that our children were safe. They have a motto that it takes a village to raise a child, and that's what we've learned here."

Hebert says his son has been enjoying playing with his seven siblings now that he's back at home, but there is evidence he has been affected by the abduction.

"There's definitely a trauma in the home like we've been invaded. Bedtime is a lot harder because the kids saw their brother getting snatched out of the house," he said.

Hebert said he has forgiven Hopley, and that he will now put his faith in the criminal justice system.

"We'll let the system do its thing and meanwhile he'll be behind bars. At least we'll know where he is and that's all that matters," he said.

RCMP are expected to release more information at a news conference at 3 p.m. local time in Sparwood.

A criminal past

Hopley has a criminal record that stretches back more than two decades.

In 2008, he pleaded guilty to a break-and-enter that resulted in an 18-month jail sentence.

A Crown spokesperson said Hopley admitted that he tried to abduct a 10-year-old Sparwood boy, but charges of unlawful confinement and attempted abduction were stayed.

In the 1980s, Hopley was sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted of sexual assault.

Criminal profiler Brad Garrett said the presumed abduction of Kienan Hebert is a very unusual case.

"For starters, the idea that an abductor would actually take the victim back to, in effect the crime scene, the child's home, and drop the child off, other than domestic kidnappings I've worked, I've never heard of such a situation like that," Garrett told CTV's Canada AM from Washington on Tuesday morning.

While it is not clear whether police would have had a hand in facilitating Kienan's safe return, Garrett said it is hard to explain why they wouldn't have made an arrest when the Sparwood boy was returned.