Randall Hopley, the Sparwood man accused of abducting three-year-old Kienan Hebert from his bed, has been ordered by a court to undergo a full psychiatric assessment.
The 46-year-old appeared in court in Cranbrook on Wednesday morning, a day after he was caught hiding in an abandoned miner’s cabin in the Crowsnest Pass.
Hopley arrived at court dressed in a blue shirt and black pants, with his hands clutched in front of him.
Outside the court room, a small crowd was picketing against Hopley. Their signs called for the death penalty to be brought back for offences against children.
At a press conference on Tuesday, the RCMP said a police dog detected Hopley inside one of the cabins during a search of the bible camp area just across the Alberta border. After a short chase, Hopley was caught and arrested.
A bail hearing has been scheduled for November.
He is likely to be charged with kidnapping, breaking and entering with intent to commit an indictable offence and abduction of a person under 14.
The psychiatric assessment will determine whether or not he is fit to stand trial, or exempt from criminal responsibility for his actions.
Kienan was abducted in the early hours of the morning on Wednesday last week. His parents quickly called police after discovering he was missing and an Amber Alert was issued later that day.
However, Kienan was returned to his house on Sunday morning, and was found by his father Paul, asleep on the couch.
Police deny there was any deal made with his abductor for the boy’s safe return, and said they had not been watching the house, since it is extremely unusual for a kidnapper to return a child home.
"The probability that Kienan be returned to his residence was extremely low," said Insp. Brendan Fitzpatrick. "It's a virtually unprecedented situation. Our research tells us that the longer a kidnap victim has not been returned, the higher chances of a worst-case scenario.
"On the balance of probabilities, it wasn't going to be his house."
Fitzpatrick also quelled rumours that there was an accomplice involved.
"I can tell you that the investigation to date has determined that Mr. Hopley acted alone," he said. "The initial flurry... understandably, emotions are running high... there was some thought that somebody else had run from the area, but that proved to be wrong."
Paul Hebert spoke to reporters following Hopley’s arrest and told them the family was extremely relieved now that Hopley has been caught.
“The Boogie Man is no longer,” he told CBC.