HALIFAX -- The search for a missing Cape Breton teen intensified Thursday after an emergency alert was issued, nearly a week after she was last seen in Eskasoni, N.S.
The RCMP say they received information Wednesday evening that 14-year-old Mary (Molly) Martin and 47-year-old Darcy Doyle had been in the area of Canoe Lake in southeast Cape Breton around 7 p.m.
The new information prompted police to request an emergency alert, which was issued overnight to residents in communities east of Cape Breton’s Mira River, asking them to be on the lookout for the teen.
The search at Canoe Lake began just after lunch time, as several police vehicles made their way quickly down a dirt road -- responding to a tip that Doyle’s ATV had been spotted on a wooded trail.
Since then Canoe Lake Road has been blocked to traffic, while police continued to look for both Doyle and Martin.
Police say Martin, who is from Waycobah, N.S., was last spotted in Eskasoni around 4 p.m. on Aug. 13. She is believed to be with Doyle, of Mira Gut, N.S.
According to searchers, Doyle knows the Canoe Lake area well. As of 6 p.m., the road was still blocked and the search was still going on. It continued into the evening on Thursday.
The pair was also identified on video surveillance at a gas station in Catalone, N.S., last week.
Police say they may be using a green ATV.
The Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry has been assisting the RCMP with aerial searches by helicopter. Police say aerial searches were conducted Wednesday evening and continued Thursday.
The Cape Breton Regional Police Dog Service is also involved in the search.
Several RCMP detachments and Cape Breton Regional Police are collaborating on the investigation and following up on tips.
Police say the families of Martin and Doyle are also engaged in the investigation.
Police are also urging Martin to reach out to them or to her family.
Meanwhile, in Martin’s home community of Waycobah, the chief and council are offering a $5,000 award for the teen’s safe return.
Martin is described as Indigenous with brown hair and brown eyes. She is five-foot-one inches tall and weighs 100 pounds. She has a rose tattoo on her left forearm and may be wearing eyeglasses.
Doyle is six-feet-tall and 190 pounds. He has long, black hair, a full beard and moustache, and brown eyes.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Martin and Doyle is asked to reach out to the Eskasoni RCMP at 902-379-2822 or Crime Stoppers 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
RCMP CRITICIZED FOR FAILING TO ISSUE AMBER ALERT
Some people in the community, including Martin's family and the chief of Waycobah First Nation, have criticized the RCMP for failing to issue an Amber Alert.
The Nova Scotia RCMP say the criteria for an Amber Alert isn’t met in this case.
Police say an Amber Alert is issued when they believe a person under the age of 18, or someone with a mental disability, has been abducted and is at serious risk of being harmed or is dead.
In this case, police say they believe Martin went willingly, and was not abducted.
However, the RCMP's statement that a 14-year-old girl could have gone willingly with a 47-year-old man has been met with criticism.
Even Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil expressed concerns on Thursday.
"As a father I would have major concerns," said McNeil during a news conference in Halifax. "Regardless of what the law may be, we are talking about a 14-year-old, and as a father I would have major concerns."
