A 16-year-old male, reported missing in Winnipeg, is facing charges of assaulting a police officer after an incident in Winkler.

On March 17, Winkler Police received a complaint regarding five suspicious individuals who left McDonald’s on foot. Police located the group of teenagers and learned that a male in the group was reported missing by the Winnipeg Police Service.

Police provided the four other individuals with rides back to their homes and transported the missing male to the Winkler Police Service.

Police learned that the 16-year-old male was to be transported back to his group home in Winnipeg. Upon informing the male of this he became agitated and began assaulting police. Police advised the male that he was under arrest and to stop resisting but the male continued to struggle with police and destroyed an item of police property.

Police were able to handcuff the teen, who began complaining of chest pains and requested he attend Boundary Trails Health Centre. The male was transported to the hospital, assessed and released with no injuries. He was then transported to his home in Winnipeg and released on a Promise to Appear.

Earlier the same day police discovered another youth that had been reported missing.

A homecare employee of Crocus Village reported that there were four teenagers sleeping inside the apartment building entrance. Police attended and learned that the individuals were waiting for a local coffee shop to open.

However, police also learned that one of the teenagers was reported missing, and provided him with a ride back to his residence. Police advised the entire group that it was not appropriate to sleep in the lobby of any building and the group departed the scene.