B.C. mother accused of abducting her children may be travelling with 2 men, RCMP say

A mother who has been the subject of an Amber Alert because she allegedly abducted her two children might be travelling with two men she knows, RCMP in B.C. said Thursday.

Verity Bolton is believed to be travelling with her father, Robert Bolton, 74, and her boyfriend, Abraxas Glazov, 53, according to Mounties. 

Police released two new photos Thursday afternoon of the children — Aurora, 8, and Joshuah Bolton, 10 — taken from a surveillance camera at a gas station in Merritt, B.C., on July 7. 

RCMP Cpl. Vanessa Munn said the children were seen with their mother and the two men that day, which has become the last confirmed sighting of the children.

“We are extremely concerned for the safety and well-being of the children,” Munn said at a news conference Thursday.

Verity and the children have been the subject of an Amber Alert since Wednesday.

On Thursday, police also released photos of Verity, 45, who was spotted in Kamloops, B.C., at a grocery store on July 15.

Police said in a statement that security footage did not capture the children in the store on July 15, but Verity was seen wearing all black with a black baseball cap and black sunglasses.

RCMP also released photos of the truck and trailer they believe Verity might have been driving. The truck is a blue 2012 Dodge 2500 crew cab pickup truck with the B.C. licence plate number SJ2708. The trailer was described “as a white bumper pull horse/utility style trailer.”

However, in the Merritt sighting on July 7, Munn said the mother was spotted with a different vehicle, a large travel trailer.

“Although on the last sighting [Verity] was towing a horse trailer, they also have access to a large travel trailer, or they may not be towing a trailer at all.”

Munn said they have received a large number of tips from the public they are working to verify, and the RCMP Serious Crimes Unit has taken over the investigation. 

Aurora and Joshuah were also seen in Krafty Kitchen and Bar in downtown Kelowna on June 30. The children are from Surrey.

Police said anyone who sees the truck or the children is advised not to approach them and immediately call 911.

Verity is described as a white woman standing five feet two inches tall and weighing 119 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes and usually has long hair tied back in a ponytail. She was last seen in black cargo pants and a black sweater.

Aurora is described as three feet 11 inches tall, weighing 55 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Her left front upper tooth is chipped, according to police, and she has small freckles on her face.

Police say she has shoulder-length hair, slightly curled and likely braided. She was last seen wearing a blue dress with coloured flowers on it.

Joshuah is described as four feet 10 inches tall, weighing 70 pounds, with brown hair, blue eyes and short hair in a buzz cut that is growing out. He was last seen wearing shorts and a T-shirt.

In a statement read out by police at a Thursday afternoon news conference, the family of the two missing children says it is devastated by recent events and urges the public to help police find them.

Amber Alert issued Wednesday

RCMP sent out an Amber Alert for the two children on Wednesday afternoon, the day after their father contacted police to say Verity had not returned the children to him after a vacation to the Kelowna area.

Police told CBC on Wednesday the children Surrey with their mother for what was supposed to be a camping trip on June 28 and were supposed to be returned to their father on July 17. 

“Mom initially did have permission to take these children on a vacation, however, the circumstances surrounding that have significantly changed since then,” said Munn.

Munn said Verity and her children never arrived for the planned camping trip and their reservation was cancelled.

When police initially received the report that the children were missing on Tuesday, Munn said they did not have enough information to determine whether the children were at risk. 

She said they ultimately issued the Amber Alert because the are concerned for Verity’s mental health, overall well-being and ability to care for the children.