Nova Scotia RCMP investigate after woman says boy arrived at doorstep in chains

LUNENBURG, N.S. – Police in Nova Scotia are searching for two men facing charges of forcible confinement and sexual assault after a woman reported that a 16-year-old boy arrived at her doorstep chained at his wrists and ankles.

The RCMP say they responded Monday evening to a report from a Lunenburg County resident that a youth was in need of help in the small community of Upper Chelsea, about 130 kilometres southwest of Halifax.

Alice Arnold, a 78-year-old resident of Upper Chelsea, said a teen in bare feet knocked on her door Monday at 7:20 p.m. wearing only a hooded sweatshirt. She said he had chains around his wrists and ankles and he appeared “terrified.”

“There were two loops of chains … and the ones on his ankles, I thought there was a padlock on them, which seemed weird to me,” she said in an interview Wednesday.

“It’s horrifying to think about.”

She said she didn’t allow him into her home but told him she was calling police.

“I said I’d call 911, and he said, ‘Don’t call the police. It will make it worse for me,’ and he ran off.

“He ran to another neighbour’s house and they let him in and they cut off the chains.”

The RCMP said the boy was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The Mounties said they’re seeking the public’s help in finding the suspects and believe they could be in Lunenburg or Halifax Counties.

Police said David James Leblanc, 47, and 31-year-old Wayne Alan Cunningham have been charged with forcible confinement and sexual assault.