Evansburg RCMP have arrested a suspect involved in an alleged armed abduction in early February.
On Sunday, Feb. 2, Mounties say they received a call from a third-party to report that an adult had allegedly been kidnapped at gunpoint in the area of Highway 16A and Range Road 81 in Evansburg.
Officials say they responded to this call quickly, dispatching dozens of officers from Evansburg RCMP, Edson RCMP Traffic Unit, Edson RCMP, Whitecourt RCMP, Mayerthorpe RCMP, Parkland RCMP, Drayton Valley RCMP, Hinton RCMP, Barrhead RCMP, Saddle Lake RCMP, Real Time Operation Centre, RCMP Air Services, Alberta’s Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), Major Crimes Unit, Emergency Response Team, and the Federal Serious & Organized Crime Unit.
Mounties say they located the vehicle and attempted a traffic stop, but the suspect fled at a high rate of speed. Due to the perceived danger to the victim, police initiated a pursuit and made contact with the vehicle, causing the suspect to flee on foot. RCMP members were able to safely secure the victim after the suspect fled.
RPAS located the suspect running behind a shed in a rural residential area north of Range Road 150. The suspect then attempted to break into a residential home but was confronted by the homeowner.
Mounties quickly set up a containment and the suspect surrendered peacefully shortly after.
Police say 50-year-old Jeffrey Joseph Fendelet, a resident of Onoway, has been charged with:
- Flight from police
- Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle
- Resist/obstruct a police officer
- Mischief under $5000.00
- Break-and-enter to a residence
- Forcible confinement
Fendelet was brought before a Justice of the Peace and was remanded with a court date of Feb. 5, at the Alberta Court of Justice in Stoney Plain.
The RCMP say this investigation is still ongoing and they thank residents for their assistance thus far.
