Woman arrested in autistic boy's death

Police in B.C. have arrested a woman they were seeking in the death of an autistic boy whose body was found in her home.

Victim's family says Amber Alert should have been issued

CBC News Posted: Aug 18, 2009 1:17 PM EDT | Last Updated: August 19, 2009

Kimberly Ruth Noyes is in police custody in connection with the death of neighbour John Fulton, 12. ((CBC))

Police in B.C. have arrested a woman they were seeking in connection with the death of an autistic boy whose body was found inside her home.

Kimberly Ruth Noyes, 42, was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon after being located near a high school in the community of Grand Forks, police said.

Statement from John Fulton's family

To begin we would like to thank all the individuals and organizations who volunteered their time and resources over the last few days in the search for our loved one. We would like to especially thank Const. Alex Bell of the RCMP and Gord Ihlen of Search and Rescue

We would also like to express our concern with the lack of an Amber Alert in this investigation.We do not know if this could have saved Johnny's life, nor do we wish to speculate, however, we feel strongly that any child with autism should automatically qualify as an Amber Alert. Autism is a disorder which impacts normal brain development leaving most individuals with communication problems, difficulty with typical social interactions and a tendency to repeat specific patterns of behaviour.

Our family knew there was no way John could have run away, because his autism would not have allowed him to go out of his comfort zone. We do understand why an Amber Alert cannot be issued every time a preteen is missing for a few hours, however Johnny was not a typical preteen.

Even if the RCMP could not issue an Amber Alert due to the fact that John did not fit their criteria, they did have the power to bring Search and Rescue in immediately, They chose to wait over 20 hours to do so.

This may be protocol for typical preteens, however given John's disorder he should not have been treated as a typical case. We would urge agencies such as the RCMP to work with the Canadian Autism Society to educate themselves about the realities of autism.

We would also like to express our complete horror at being notified of John's death via the internet. We understand that this was an error, however it is not something we would ever wish another family to have go through and we would hope and pray that safeguards will be put in place to prevent this from ever happening to another family.

Not only has our family suffered an unimaginable loss but so has our community.We would ask that the media not only respect our privacy but the privacy of the rest of our community so that we can all begin to heal.

The body ofJohn Fulton, 12, was found Monday night inside Noyes's residence, which is two doors away from the home where the boy lived. Hehad been missing since Saturday.

Noyes was not at home when police broke down the door of her townhome and found the boy's body, RCMP said.

Noyes was last seen riding a black mountain bike in the southeastern Interior community on Tuesday morning, just hours before the police put out an alert asking for the public's help in finding her, but also urging caution.

After consulting with local health officials, the RCMP issued a warning saying Noyes "does pose a threat to herself and possibly others due to her diagnosed state of mental health."

Police tape surrounded thewoman's home on Tuesday as investigators came and went from the house.

The young victim, described by his family as a high-functioning autistic child, disappeared from the front steps of his home in a subsidized housing complex on Saturday, sparking an intensive search.

Details about the cause of his death have not beenreleased by police.

Parents critical of police procedure

In a release sent to media Tuesday, the boy's family thanked police for their efforts but criticized the process involved when children are reported missing.

"We would like to express our concern with the lack of an Amber Alert in this investigation. We do not know if this could have saved Johnnys life, nor do we wish to speculate, however, we feel strongly that any child with autism should automatically qualify as an Amber Alert," the release said.

According to the B.C. RCMP's website, all of following conditions must be met before law enforcement officials in the province can activate an Amber Alert:

The victim is under the age of 18.
Police have reasonable grounds to believe that the victim has been abducted.
Police have reasonable grounds to believe the victim is in imminent danger.
Police have obtained enough descriptive information about the victim, abductor and/or the vehicle involved.
Police believe that the alert can be issued in a time frame that will provide a reasonable expectation that the child can be returned or the abductor apprehended

John Fulton, 12, was found dead inside a neighbour's home in Grand Forks, B.C. ((CBC))

"Our family knew there was no way John could have run away, because his autism would not have allowed him to go out of his comfort zone," said the statement from the boy's family. "We do understand why an Amber Alert cannot be issued every time a preteen is missing for a few hours, however Johnny was not a typical preteen."

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Woman arrested in autistic boy's death

Victim's family says Amber Alert should have been issued

Parents critical of police procedure

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