Man who posed as Santa accused of attempted child abduction
Edmonton suspect arrested outside Penticton, B.C
The Canadian Press
Posted: Feb 4, 2012 5:01 PM PT
Last Updated: Feb 4, 2012 10:59 PM PT
Police in B.C. have arrested an Edmonton suspect in a case where a man allegedly tried to lure a child by claiming he was Santa.
David Warren Buchanan, 67, has been charged with two counts of attempted child abduction and police say he is a suspect in a third case.
Buchanan was arrested Friday in Penticton, B.C., after RCMP spotted his vehicle outside a hotel.
Police in Edmonton said that on Jan. 23, they responded to a call about an elderly man with a beard who allegedly approached a four-year-old girl, offered her candy and asked if she wanted to go for a ride with Santa.
The girl's father was nearby and says the man was wearing a red cowboy hat and that there were presents in the back seat of his car.
Police say there were two other incidents in Edmonton — one last month and another in 2010 — where children were approached while they were with their parents.
A date for Buchanan's court appearance hasn't been set.
Investigators issued two news releases last month that they were seeking Buchanan.
The first contained details about the Jan. 23 incident with the four-year-old girl, as well as information about an incident in 2010 where they say a man approached an eight-year-old girl with her family at an Edmonton mall and asked her to go home with him.
Police issued a second release stating that the resulting media coverage led to a report of a third incident where they say a man initiated a conversation with a four-year-old boy on Jan. 14. The release says the boy was sitting with his parents, and the suspect allegedly told the child to come home with him before his parents intervened.
The suspect has also been seen wearing a bright blue cowboy hat and reading glasses.
Sheriffs will be bringing Buchanan back to Alberta in the next few days.
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