Missing mother and son found safe

Lethbridge Police Service has reported that Sheena Empringham, her three-year-old son Atreyu and her boyfriend have been located and are safe.

“The trio were found south of Lethbridge by HALO Air Ambulance,” reports LPS.

Thanks are extended to all involved in the collaborative investigation.

Police advise that no further information will be released.

Original article

Police in Lethbridge are asking for the public’s help in finding a 38-year-old Stavely woman and her son.

Sheena Empringham and her three-year-old, Atreyu, were reportedly “floating down” a southern Alberta river some time Sunday with an unidentified man, believed to be her boyfriend.

A text message from Sheena’s cellphone, to a family member, said they were looking for ammolite.

Authorities, however, have been unable to validate the details or the man’s identity.

In a social media posting Tuesday, police did confirm the first of two texts came Sunday and asked to be picked up south of Lethbridge but didn’t indicate which river or the exact pickup point.

The text message also stated they’d run out of food and water.

“On Aug. 28 (Monday), the family member received another text message saying Sheena’s phone had died but she still needed a ride. She indicated she’d call the relative at 3 p.m. with more information,” the Lethbridge Police Service Facebook post went on to say.

There’s been no contact since that followup text message.

“Police believe the trio were dropped off at their starting point by a friend, but so far the friend has not been identified,” the post said.

While no river was identified, Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services’ water rescue team carried out a search Monday night along the Oldman River, where it’s thought there could be concentrated deposits of ammolite.

Monday’s search ended with no results when river levels became too low for the rescue vessel to continue.

An aerial search by a drone and efforts by RCMP to canvas nearby properties and campgrounds have also failed to produce any leads.

It’s now been deemed as a missing persons case.

Anyone who may have seen Sheena or Atreyu is asked to contact Lethbridge police at 403-328-4444 (reference file 23020508) or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.