Amber Alert for 5-year-old canceled, police in standoff with boy's father

SPOKANE, Wash. - An Amber Alert for a 5-year-old boy who was abducted by his father near Spokane was canceled Tuesday afternoon after the father was tracked down at a home in Whitman County, where he is now holed up in a standoff with deputies, according to reports.

Negotiators worked to get the boy to safety. The Spokane County Sheriff's Office said he is unhurt.

Police officials say the father, identified as Justin P. Robertson, 41, broke into the Spokane home of his estranged wife on Tuesday, stabbed her and then snatched their 5-year-old son, Ethan. The father then took off with Ethan in an unknown direction, triggering the Amber Alert.

Robertson's estranged wife, Melissa Robertson, was seriously injured in the stabbing attack but is expected to survive.

Melissa told police she'd recently served her estranged husband with divorce papers.

Court records also show two domestic violence complaints filed by Robertson against her husband; one in December and another in March.

A domestic violence protective order was issued in the March case, but expired last week and wasn't renewed by the judge handling the case.

"The most dangerous time a person leaves is actually after they leave. Because domestic violence is about power and control. Once that abuser has lost control and that power, they'll do anything to get it back," says Keri Moran-Kuhn of the Oregon Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence.

"I think that having children complicate the factor, definitely complicates it in court with custody hearings," Moran-Kuhn adds.

The alert was canceled at about 1:55 p.m. after the father was tracked down to a home near St. John, Washington -- about an hour south of Spokane.

Justin Robertson has been asked to surrender, but so far he has refused to come out of the home, according to the sheriff's office. They say SWAT and negotiators are working to get Robertson to peacefully surrender.

Authorities are asking everyone to stay clear of the St. John area as they work to resolve the standoff as quickly and safely as possible.