Search continues for high-risk sex offender who fled Canada for Washington

The search continues for a high-risk sex offender being sought in Canada who crossed back into Washington state last week. But officials have determined he wasn’t behind an attempted abduction in Federal Way, as once believed.

The Federal Way Police Department says they received several tips that the sketch of a possible suspect in a child luring case resembled Michael Sean Stanley.

Stanley has a long history of sexual offenses against women and children and has been missing since Oct. 1, when he cut off his electronic monitoring bracelet around the Alberta-Saskatchewan boundary, according to authorities. Last week, schools in several west-central Saskatchewan communities locked their doors and kept children inside after police received multiple, unconfirmed sightings of the Edmonton man.

Officials allowed Stanley through the border in Blaine after reviewing his information in a biometric records check and finding they had no legal authority to extradite him.

Authorities are now looking into the extradition process and working with other agencies in Canadian government on that effort.

Jack Williams, the acting chief deputy of the U.S. Marshals Service in western Washington, says there is nothing law enforcement here can do about Stanley’s case unless there is a provisional arrest warrant for authorities to act on.

Meanwhile, Federal Way Police spokesperson Cathy Schrock says the search continues for Stanley.

“We’re going to certainly hope to locate this person. He does seem to pose a very credible threat, especially to children.”

Sgt. Craig Cleary, with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, tells KIRO Radio officials will do all they can to pursue Stanley and work with the United States to get him back behind bars in Canada as soon as possible.

“He definitely had a history of various offenses that were violent, as well as sexual … If somebody has been labeled a high request offender, that’s not something that’s done without justifiable cause.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report