Woman with dementia located safely after alleged abduction from Winnipeg gas station

Winnipeg police say a woman with dementia who was abducted early Saturday morning when the vehicle she was sitting in was stolen has been located safely.

Police say a patrol unit located the stolen vehicle abandoned in the Glendale neighbourhood at 11:50 a.m. – roughly 10 hours after it was stolen.

The 63-year-old woman was alone and unharmed inside the vehicle.

Police say no arrests have been made.

The Winnipeg Police Service believes the woman was sitting in the back seat of a blue 2012 Jeep Patriot when it was stolen from a gas station on Portage Avenue near Knox Street at 1:57 a.m.

The WPS released security footage of a man approaching the vehicle and entering from the unlocked passenger side.

The suspect then transfers into the driver’s seat, at which point a man in a hoodie – who police describe as a family member of the woman – is seen emerging from the gas station.

The man in the hoodie appears to attempt to open the car door as the suspect drives away.

Police say the vehicle had last been seen driving westbound on Portage Avenue towards the Perimeter Highway.

Winnipeg police activated a “silver alert,” meaning a vulnerable adult was reported missing.

In an news release, police say they received a tip around 11:15 a.m. of the stolen Jeep in Charleswood, but officers deployed to that location determined it was a similar but different vehicle.