CALGARY — An Edmonton father missing with his two young children is now wanted across Canada after police announced charges alleging he abducted them in violation of a custody order.Edmonton Police Service said Wednesday that Canada-wide warrants have been issued for Scot Macdermid, 42, on two counts of abduction in contravention of a custody order.The charges relate to his son George, 6, and daughter Lesley, 9. Court records show the charges were issued September 4.Police are asking the public to help locate all three, but say they should not be approached..Macdermid was last seen at Manning Town Centre in northeast Edmonton on August 28. Investigators later determined he and the children were also seen that day in Lloydminster, on the Alberta-Saskatchewan border.Their movements beyond Lloydminster remain unknown.Police first publicly appealed for information about their whereabouts on September 8. They have said Macdermid has been unreachable and expressed concern for the children’s welfare.Despite the abduction charges, investigators said the available evidence does not meet the criteria for an Amber Alert at this time.“An Amber Alert is one tool available to police, but it is not the investigation itself,” said Staff Sgt. Robert Davis of the EPS Child Protection Section.“Finding Lesley and George remains our top priority.”Police said they continue working to locate the children safely.An Amber Alert requires investigators to have grounds to believe a child has been abducted and that the circumstances indicate immediate physical danger.The charges against Macdermid allege he took or concealed children younger than 14 in breach of a court custody or parenting order.Court records also detail an earlier custody dispute between Macdermid and the children’s mother over whether their habitual residence was in Canada or the Dominican Republic..Edmonton police shoot armed suspect dead after woman and infant shot in home.According to a 2024 Alberta Court of Appeal decision, Macdermid alleged the mother had wrongfully removed the children from the Dominican Republic and brought them to Canada.A lower-court judge ruled their habitual residence was Edmonton. Macdermid appealed, but the appeal was dismissed June 14, 2024.The decision described Macdermid as Canadian-born and a businessman with corporations in Alberta and business interests in the Dominican Republic.The children’s mother was born and raised in the Dominican Republic and has been a Canadian permanent resident since 2018, according to court records.The couple married in Edmonton in 2016 and permanently separated June 26, 2023. During their marriage, they spent time at homes in Edmonton and Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.Macdermid is described as five feet five inches tall and approximately 160 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.George is four feet two inches tall and approximately 45 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Lesley is four feet four inches tall and approximately 45 pounds, also with brown hair and brown eyes.Anyone who has seen Macdermid or the children, or has information about their whereabouts, is asked to contact Edmonton police or Crime Stoppers.
