Kananaskis, Alberta — A ceremony was held on Saturday, November 1, 2025 in Lethbridge to raise awareness about a petition designed to raise awareness about the need for reforming the national Amber Alert.
The petition was launched by friends of the family of Darius Macdougall, who disappeared while out camping with his family on September 19 in Kananaskis country.
Kananaskis country (also known as K-Country) is a multi-use area located west of Calgary in the foothills and front ranges of the Canadian Rockies, Alberta).
"I started this petition after a young boy named Darius went missing from our community near the Alberta/B.C. border next to a highway," said petition organizer Ronnie DeGagne.
"No Amber Alert was ever issued and I realized there was a dangerous gap in our system," he said."
Police are unable to issue an alert without a confirmed proof of an abduction even when a child is at risk.
"I began this petition so no parents of a child have to go through that silence again."
The intensive search for Macdougall was called off after 11 days.
"There are too many cases of missing people, children, Indigenous people, vanishing without a trace despite the use of dogs, cadaver dogs, drones and helicopters," DeGagne said. "And they're vanishing near highways, near borders, and national parks. We fear these are areas being exploited by smugglers and traffickers and we're advocating for national amber alert reform."
DeGagne said he hopes to take the petition, which had close to 14,000 signatures on Sunday afternoon, to Ottawa to advocate for national Amber Alert reform.
"We're optimistic but there's a long battle ahead and we're going to keep fighting," DeGagne said.
Comments (2)
I’ve been saying for years this amber alert needs to be changed! What harm is there putting out an alert for a missing child no matter what the circumstances are!
I think an amber alert is only activated if police have CONFIRMED that an abduction has taken place; and the victim is a child under 18 years of age; and there is reason to believe the victim is in danger of serious physical injury.