A police dog that tracked Randall Hopley to a cabin near an Alberta bible camp nabbed his target "right away," says a witness to the dramatic arrest of the man suspected of abducting a young B.C. boy.
On Thursday, the first images emerged of Hopley's arrest earlier this week.
The images, taken by a civilian who was at the scene, show marked police cars and unmarked pickups blocking an access road in a forested area near a lime quarry. One image shows police officers holding down a suspect sitting on the gravel road.
Hopley is considered the prime suspect in the disappearance of three-year-old Kienan Hebert, who vanished from his family home in Sparwood, B.C. on Sept. 6.
Police had been searching for Hopley for several days. He was finally apprehended Tuesday morning at a cabin in the Crowsnest Lake area, just across the provincial border from British Columbia.
Bob Gresl, who works at the quarry and had no idea Hopley was in the cabin, said the police dog that chased the suspect easily nabbed its target.
"He got him on the road," Gresl told CTV News. "(The) dog got him right away."
According to Gresl, the camp used to house quarry workers.
The cabin Hopley was tracked to was a mess, with dirt and garbage strewn about and clothes piled on the floor. It was unclear late Thursday how long Hopley had been using the cabin.
CTV's Alberta Bureau Chief Janet Dirks has described Hopley's takedown as "quite dramatic."
Police have said they received a tip Monday night that Hopley might be in the area of a Bible camp in Alberta, a short drive from Sparwood, where the boy went missing.
They cordoned off the area around the camp, and several police dog units were deployed to the area. They remained overnight, until the dogs picked up Hopley's scent.
The dogs tracked Hopley to an abandoned cabin near the camp around 10 a.m. local time Tuesday. They knocked on the door, but Hopley somehow fled. He was chased down by police and their dogs, and apprehended.
Hopley had to see a doctor after his arrest. Hopley's lawyer William Thorne told reporters Wednesday that Hopley was slightly injured by police dogs during his arrest.
Hopley's car, which police were also looking for, was located nearby.
Details of boy's abduction, return a mystery
The circumstances of how Kienan was safely returned to his home Sunday morning remain a bit of a mystery to the public.
Police say the boy went missing after being put to bed Sept. 6. After an exhaustive search, as well as Amber Alerts in British Columbia and Alberta, and appeals from both police and the Hebert family, the toddler was returned to the family home in the middle of the night.
Investigators have refused to release details about how Kienan was removed from his home, where they believe he was kept in the days he was missing, and how he came to be returned.
RCMP Insp. Brendan Fitzpatrick has insisted that police did not make a deal with Hopley to allow Kienan's alleged abductor to return the child unharmed in exchange for his freedom.
"I can tell you absolutely there was no deal made with Mr. Hopley," Fitzpatrick said Tuesday.
Fitzpatrick also said police did not put the Hebert home under surveillance after issuing their appeal because they did not believe the abductor would return the little boy to his own house.
Hopley's story ‘will come out'
Hopley is charged with kidnapping, abduction of a child under 14, and breaking and entering. He has also been charged with two counts of breach of probation.
A B.C. judge has ordered Hopley be held in custody while he undergoes a psychiatric evaluation to determine if he is fit to stand trial.
Outside court, journalists, curious onlookers and both critics and supporters of Hopley gathered to get a glimpse of the accused.
One mother of three criticized the proceedings.
"We have children that need to be protected, and we are paying for this man to go sit in jail, and eat three square meals a day and have tv or whatever else he is going to get in jail and I find that absolutely insulting," she told CTV.
But another man who identified himself as Hopley's closest friend said he does not belong in a jail cell. Brandon Johnson said Hopley needs help.
"I would take a bullet for this man," Johnson said.
After Hopley made his first court appearance Wednesday, his lawyer reminded the public that his client deserves a fair trial and shouldn't be convicted in the court of public opinion.
"Mr. Hopley has a story to tell and eventually, not yet, his story will come out," Thorne told reporters.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Elissa Carpenter and CTV's Alberta Bureau Chief Janet Dirks
