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Children found, Amber Alert canceled after alleged abduction in Grantsville

Posted at 4:44 PM, Sep 21, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-21 23:20:39-04

GRANTSVILLE, Utah – Two young girls were found safe after an Amber Alert was issued in Utah Wednesday, and the suspect’s brother said the man turned himself in as soon as he, “heard there was a problem.”

The Amber Alert was first issued just after 4 p.m. Wednesday, and the alert indicated the girls had been abducted in Grantsville around 2:15 p.m.

The alert listed the suspect as 53-year-old Kenneth Shrewsbury, who is the father of both girls—11-year-old Rebecca and 7-year-old Barbara.

Sometime after 5 p.m., Shrewsbury and the girls arrived at a Unified Police Department substation in Magna.

"The girls are happy, healthy, and dad is still being questioned," said Sgt. Rhonda Fields of the Grantsville Police Department.

The suspect’s brother, Dan Shrewsbury, was present, and he said Kenneth Shrewsbury made the choice to contact police.

"As soon as we heard there was a problem, it was his choice, ‘Hey, let's go to the police station and get this straightened out,’” Dan Shrewsbury said.

The Amber Alert that was issued stated the suspect had recently purchased an “assault rifle” and had made threats toward the government.

"He doesn't think that the government is in his best interest," Drew Shrewsbury said of his brother.

As for the bit about buying an "assault rifle", Fields is the one who put the Amber Alert information together for Grantsville PD, and she said she has no idea where that detail came from, as it wasn't something they provided.

The U.S. Department of Justice lists four guidelines for determining when to issue an Amber Alert.

The first is that law enforcement confirms there has been an abduction.

"Mom came to the home to retrieve the children, and the father had left with the children," Fields said of Wednesday's incident.

A court order had given the children's mother custody of the girls.

The second guideline is that the kids are determined to likely be in danger.

"The children were to be removed from the home, and it is my belief there is good reasoning for that," Fields said regarding that requirement.

The third guideline is that an accurate description of the suspect can be given, and the fourth is the age of the child or children. Generally, Amber Alerts are not issued for children over the age of 17.