Why did RCMP spring accused parental abductor Astrid Schiller?
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Accused parental abductor Astrid Schiller is once more in the wind.
The 55-year-old Clarington mother of three young boys is back on the lam after being sprung by the RCMP in Manitoba and then snatching her kids from a care home.
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But how she managed to wiggle out of the clutches of law enforcement is a mystery.
Schiller — wanted by Durham Regional Police since December — was nabbed when she tried to slip into the United States from Boissevain, Man., with sons Leon, 12; Christopher, 11; and Thomas, 9.
End of the road? Not quite. She was sprung and then proceeded to sneak her kids out of a local care home and whisk them into the Prairie night.
Now, the question is: Why was Schiller released from custody?
The RCMP said the warrant for her arrest did not extend to Manitoba but one veteran detective scoffed at that.
“I don’t know all the particulars but it makes no sense that they would release her,” one veteran detective told The Toronto Sun. “She should have been held in custody to be returned to Durham.”
The Mounties claimed the DRPS warrant held no water in the Prairie province. No soap, the cop said.
“So they don’t know the law. If it’s a Criminal Code warrant she is arrestable anywhere in Canada,” he said. “If they say it wasn’t Canada-wide that’s just the return radius.”
He added: “You can be arrested on any active warrant anywhere in Canada and call the issuing police service to see if they will return. It sounds like incompetence.”
One person with knowledge of the investigation told the Sun that the Mounties allowed the DRPS to extend the warrant. That would have allowed the RCMP to keep Schiller on ice until she could be returned to Ontario.
However, the offer was allegedly torpedoed, prompting the release of Schiller, a devout Bible puncher.
“The Mounties, Homeland Security and CBSA are all very upset at the release of Astrid and the subsequent abduction. And what kind of security did they have in that home?” the source asked.
Late Tuesday, the DRPS issued a news release stating that the three boys were safe and in care. However, theadline on the news release said cops were still looking for Schiller.
Now, it appears that the “RCMP has carriage of the matter.”
The source added that the Attorney General’s office needed to sign off on the Parental Abduction charges in December. And there are suspicions that Schiller has had assistance during her time on the run.
“There is zero indication she will come in willingly. She has been offered many concessions and things to alleviate her paranoia. Everything has failed,” the source said.
A voracious social media poster, Schiller has not published anything on her Facebook account since April. Before then, she offered up new age homilies with a dash of the apocalypse.
Investigators believe the children are now with Schiller and say she’s driving a white 2018 Mercedes GLC with B.C. licence plate SJ975W.
If you know the whereabouts of Astrid Schiller or her children you are encouraged to contact the RCMP or the nearest police service.
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