The father of a 3-year-old B.C. boy who went missing early Wednesday morning from his hometown of Sparwood made a public plea for his son's safe return on Saturday afternoon.

"To whoever has Kienan right now, we're just asking: Please bring Kienan to a safe place right now, like a gas station or a store parking lot where he is visibly seen, and you could just drop him off there. Walk away," Paul Hebert said.

His wife, Tammy, sat beside him during the police-organized news conference at 1 p.m. MT.

'Kienan can't speak. He can't tell us who you are'—Paul Hebert, Kienan's father

Paul Hebert, addressing the alleged abductor, told him he could still get away as long as Kienan is found safe.

"Kienan can't speak. He can't tell us who you are. This is your chance right now to get away," Hebert said.

"All we want is Kienan to come back with us and to be safe in our arms again."

Missing for three days

The Heberts' son was last seen when they put him to bed Tuesday night. Police issued an Amber Alert on Wednesday afternoon, naming 46-year-old Randall Hopley as a suspect in Kienan's disappearance.

There was some initial delay in issuing the Amber Alert because the boy had a history of sleepwalking, police said earlier in the week. Police have since made adamant statements that Kienan was removed from the house by someone.

"Investigators can state that this is a case of child abduction. It is not a matter of a child walking away from the home," B.C. RCMP Cpl. Dan Moskaluk said at Saturday's news conference.

"Kienan was abducted."

Moskaluk said that police also learned that another child was targeted, perhaps by the same individual who took Kienan, at around the same time.

"The RCMP is also investigating a second attemped abduction, which occurred earlier on Wednesday, early Wednesday morning, in Sparwood prior to Kienan being abducted," Moskaluk said.

"However, the person was unable to successfully lure the child out of that home."

Moskaluk said that upwards of 60 investigators were working on the case.

Earlier sightings fruitless

Possible sightings of the pair or of the suspect vehicle, a 1987 brown Toyota Camry, were reported in Northern B.C. and on BC Ferries. Nothing came from those reports.

On Saturday, RCMP extended the Amber Alert into Alberta and hundreds of volunteers began combing the woods in and around Sparwood.