Canadian gold medalist Bedard arrested

TORONTO, Dec 24 (Reuters) Canadian Olympic champion Myriam Bedard has been arrested on suspicion of abducting her 12-year-old daughter in a custody case, the US Marshals Service said.

Bedard, who captured a pair of biathlon gold medals at the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, was picked up by US Marshals at a hotel in Columbia, Maryland, on Friday, the agency said.

The Toronto Star said she left Canada with her daughter without the agreement of her ex-husband, Jean Paquet.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police asked the US Marshals Service for help in finding Bedard on December 15. She lacked full custodial rights for her daughter and officials in Quebec City, Canada, had issued a warrant for her arrest, the US Marshals Service said in a statement.

Bedard, 37, was in a Maryland jail and set to appear in court on Tuesday, the agency said. Her child is in protective custody awaiting a reunion with her father, it added.

The Toronto Star said Bedard's arrest follows a pattern of strange behavior.

Bedard and her partner, Nima Mazhari, wrote letters to Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and US Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins informing them they were leaving the country ''to continue our fight against Canadian bureaucratic terrorism,'' the newspaper reported.

The couple also sent a missive to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Interpol, Amnesty International and ''all the inhabitants of the Earth,'' warning to keep an eye out for terrorists, the Star said.

REUTERS MQA RN0751