A tearful Saskatchewan father publicly thanked those who helped his son escape from the convicted pedophile charged in the 10-year-old's abduction.

In a brief but emotional statement, he said Wednesday that his son was doing "as well as can be expected" after his ordeal.

"He's a very strong little boy, and he will get better," he said before breaking down and running back inside the RCMP detachment in Broadview, Sask., visibly overwhelmed.

After an intense two-day manhunt, the boy was discovered Tuesday near an abandoned farmhouse near Kipling, just southwest of his hometown of Whitewood, Sask., 185 kilometres east of Regina.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, weighed laying more charges against suspect Peter Whitmore, who was arrested late Tuesday after a 10-hour standoff with the RCMP.

The 35-year-old is in police custody as the investigation continues, and is expected to appear in a Regina court on Thursday.

A fourteen-year-old who had been missing from Winnipeg since July 22, was also found safe at the farm. He didn't leave Whitmore's custody until very late in the standoff.

The teen is still in RCMP custody in Broadview, although policy won't say why. His family is in Broadview.

Relief, anger

Whitewood Mayor Malcolm Green said that sadness turned to relief in his community of less than 1,000 after hearing news that the boys were safe.

"I don't think there was a dry eye in the community or anywhere. It was just a very emotional afternoon yesterday for our community," he told CTV Newsnet on Wednesday.

"You never know with these things. We were always hoping for the best."

But the case has also sparked anger with some groups who complained that the public doesn't have enough information about sex offenders living in their midst.

Green said he is planning to start a letter-writing campaign in the community in an effort to persuade both levels of government to toughen laws protecting children.

The mayor expressed anger that a convicted pedophile such as Whitmore could walk the streets freely.

"This has to be changed. We have to have some kind of system, where people like this can be tracked and communities can be informed so we can take the necessary measures to protect the residents," he said. "We just can't believe, after researching this guy's background, that he could be loose."

In Kipling, Mayor Pat Jackson said there needs to be a debate on how to better protect children from people like Whitmore.

"I also suspect there's going to be a lot of discussion over the next while, both at SUMA (the urban municipalities association in Saskatchewan) and at SARM (Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities), about approaching governments on both levels to take a look at tightening things up a little bit," she told CTV.

"I don't want any of our children at risk."

Jackson said people in the community will be cautious for a while, but that eventually, "we have to get back to normal living."

Justice Minister Vic Toews said he would like to see a broadening of the dangerous offender designation, which allows judges to impose sentences with no set end date.

'I'm not a hero'

Meanwhile, the farmer who helped police locate the boy and led police to Whitmore downplayed suggestions on Wednesday that he is a hero.

Kipling-area resident Pat Beaujot was returning home for lunch on Tuesday when he noticed tracks leading to an abandoned farmhouse about a mile from his house.

"So I drove up to the farm yard and the grass is about three feet tall in that farmyard -- and I saw tracks in the grass. It was pretty obvious that somebody had driven in there recently," he told CTV.

When he followed the tracks around the house, he discovered a bucket of chicken and bones in a garage -- along with the van Whitmore was believed to be using -- which aroused his suspicions.

"So I opened the door a little bit and I saw the van that had been described by the media, and I quickly jumped back in my truck and drove to my house about a mile away and phoned the police from there."

The RCMP arrived in about "15 minutes," after which they began about 10 hours of negotiations with Whitmore, leading to his surrender late Tuesday night.

"I think there were hundreds of people doing the same thing I was doing yesterday," said Beaujot, "looking in abandoned farm yards and what not -- and I think they were all heroes. I guess I just stumbled upon the right place, I guess, at the right time."

Whitmore is a repeat sex offender who is well-known in Ontario for a string of high-profile sex assault convictions against children. After serving his most recent sentence of three years, Whitmore initially relocated to Chilliwack, B.C. in June 2005, and then to Morinville, Alta. in June.

He failed to appear at a June 29 court date and then disappeared.

Whitmore eventually showed up in Winnipeg, although he may have travelled to Newfoundland.

He worked a construction job there and became friend's with the Winnipeg boy's stepfather.

On July 22, Whitmore took the pair to Brandon, Man., about 180 km east of Whitewood, supposedly to buy a vehicle.

Whitmore convinced the stepfather to return to Winnipeg to get some money, and he disappeared with the teen.

The next day, he showed up near Whitewood, posing as a family man.

On Saturday, the 10-year-old's father helped Whitmore get a flat fixed. The two boys played together, going for a bike ride on Sunday. When they didn't return, the 10-year-old boy's parents called the RCMP, who issued a rare national Amber Alert.

A Canada-wide warrant for Whitmore's arrest was issued Monday, and he was charged with the boy's abduction.

With a report from CTV's Jill Macyshon and files from The Canadian Press