An Edmonton father who was reported missing with his young son and daughter five weeks ago is now wanted on charges related to the alleged abduction of his children.
In a news release on Wednesday, the Edmonton Police Service announced that Canada-wide warrants have been issued for 42-year-old Scot Macdermid on two counts of abduction in contravention of a custody order.
The charge is laid when it is alleged that a parent or guardian has taken or hidden a child younger than 14 in violation of a court custody or parenting order.
Macdermid has been charged with one count in connection with the alleged abduction of his son, George, 6, and a second count in the alleged abduction of his daughter, Lesley, 9. Court records show the charges were issued on Sept. 4.
Police continue to seek the public’s assistance in locating Macdermid and his children.
Macdermid is wanted on Canada-wide warrants in relation to the alleged abduction of his children. Edmonton police say the background of this image was modified using AI so it could be shared with the public. (Edmonton Police Service)
The case of the missing children first came to light on Sept. 8, when Edmonton issued a news release seeking the public’s assistance locating Macdermid and his two children.
Police said he was last seen at Manning Town Centre, a shopping plaza in northeast Edmonton, on Aug. 28.
Since then, investigators learned that Macdermid and his children were seen in Lloydminster, which straddles the Alberta-Saskatchewan border, on the same day, but police said the father and his children’s path of travel beyond the border city was unknown.
‘Finding Lesley and George’
In Wednesday’s statement, police said investigators have assessed the available evidence and determined that this investigation has not met 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,” Staff Sgt. Robert Davis with the EPS Child Protection Section said in the statement. “Finding Lesley and George remains our top priority.
“We want the community to know that we are working to locate the children safely.”
In order for police agencies in Canada to launch an Amber Alert in the disappearance of a child, investigators must have grounds to believe that a child has been abducted and the circumstances must suggest that a child is in immediate physical danger.
Missing children Lesley, 9, and George, 6, were last seen in Edmonton in late August. (Edmonton Police Service)Custody conflicts
Court records show Macdermid has previously been involved in a custody dispute with the children’s mother, a legal battle that hinged on whether the children should live with him in the Dominican Republic or with her in Alberta.
According to a 2024 Alberta Court of Appeal decision, Macdermid had alleged that the mother had wrongfully removed the children from the Dominican Republic and brought them to Canada.
A lower-court judge had previously ruled in the mother’s favour and determined that the children’s habitual residence was in Edmonton. Macdermid appealed that decision, but his appeal was dismissed on June 14, 2024.
The case documents a prolonged separation process, marked by conflicts over custody of the children.
Macdermid and the children’s mother married in 2016 in Edmonton and spent time at homes in both Edmonton and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.
The written decision said Macdermid was born and raised in Canada and is a businessman with “corporations in Alberta and business interests in the DR [Dominican Republic].”
According to court records, the children’s mother was born and raised in the Dominican Republic but has been a permanent resident of Canada since 2018.
In its decision, the Alberta Court of Appeal said Macdermid believed that the lower-court judge had demonstrated bias against him and determined that he lacked credibility “because he was unlikeable.”
The court heard that Macdermid and the children’s mother first separated in 2021 while in the Dominican Republic, but the pair reconciled later that year and “waited out COVID-19 lockdowns” until they could return to Edmonton as a family in February 2022.
They then lived in Edmonton for 10 months but separated again “due to alleged domestic violence by the appellant against the [mother],” the court decision reads.
“The parties reconciled after two months and travelled to the DR in December 2022 where they stayed until around May 2023 when they returned to Edmonton on one-way plane tickets,” the court wrote.
“There was evidence that the respondent had obtained an Emergency Protection Order (EPO) against the appellant arising from an incident on June 26, 2023, leading to the parties’ permanent separation.”
According to the court decision, Macdermid and the mother shared custody of the children for a time in Edmonton. Then, in August 2023, according to the mother’s testimony, Macdermid took the children to Ontario for more than three weeks without her knowledge, and he was ordered to immediately return to Alberta with the children and relinquish their passports.
At the same time, Macdermid — still bound by the emergency protection order — began fighting for custody in the courts, eventually seeking an application under the International Child Abduction Act, claiming that the children’s mother was wrongfully retaining them in Edmonton.
Court records show that Macdermid was previously charged with two counts of breaching a protection order and two counts of criminal harassment in June 2026. Those charges were later withdrawn.
Search continues
Macdermid is described as being five feet five inches tall and weighing about 160 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. George is described as being four feet two inches tall and weighing 45 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes, while Lesley is described as being four feet four inches tall and weighing about 45 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.
Police have said Macdermid has been unreachable, and there is concern for the welfare of his children.
Anyone who has seen the father and his children or who has information on their whereabouts is asked to contact Edmonton police or Crime Stoppers. Police have said the Macdermid and his children should not be approached.