SASKATOWAN – Saskatchewan RCMP say officers have located a vehicle they believe was used by a suspect in a fatal mass stabbing.
Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore says in a video statement that the abandoned black Nissan Rogue was found Friday morning by officers during a ground search in an area near the village of Crystal Springs, about 130 kilometers northeast of Saskatoon.
“The vehicle had been driven down a dirt road behind trees and was not visible from the main road,” Blackmore said.
The vehicle matched the one police had put on an emergency alert Sunday after the rampage that left 10 dead and 18 injured on the James Smith Cree Nation and the nearby community of Weldon. Two suspects also died.
Sanderson, 32, died Wednesday after a four-day manhunt. Officers flooded the area around Crystal Springs and the town of Wakaw after reports that a truck had been stolen by a man with a knife.
The police chased the truck and it went into a ditch. RCMP said Sanderson was taken into custody, but a short time later he developed a medical problem and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Sanderson and the other suspect, his 31-year-old brother, Damien Sanderson, were both wanted on charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder and burglary. Damien Sanderson was found dead near one of 18 crime scenes on Monday. RCMP said Miles Sanderson was also being investigated in his brother’s death.
Blackmore said a person who thought they saw Miles Sanderson walking on a lattice road in the rural area around Crystal Springs on Sunday afternoon called to report him to police on Thursday.
Given the time and the man’s description, Blackmore said, police began searching the area from the ground and from the air for any indication that Sanderson was there.
“You never know when a seemingly trivial tip might lead us to critical evidence,” he said.
He encouraged other local residents to report any suspicious activity on their properties to help the RCMP create a timeline.
Police are still investigating what happened during and after the attacks, he said.
“This is and continues to be one of the most complex investigations and public safety emergencies in Saskatchewan history and continues to be an ongoing criminal investigation,” Blackmore said.
He earlier said that because both suspects are dead, the motive behind the killings may never be known.
The Saskatoon Police Service has said it will investigate the in-custody death of Miles Sanderson. The Serious Incident Response Team, a provincial citizen-led group, will also investigate.
The Saskatchewan health authority said as of Friday afternoon, eight of the injured victims remained in hospital in stable condition.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on September 9, 2022.
