WESTLOCK – Tracking down the fourth youth wanted on a Canada-wide warrant after a vicious attack against an 18-year-old woman near Long Island Lake used a lot of police resources, Westlock RCMP S/Sgt Jeff Sehn told Westlock County council on Feb. 25.
On Jan. 16, the fourth suspect, a 17-year-old male resident of Edmonton, finally turned himself in to the Edmonton Police Service after a four-month manhunt. He was charged with attempted murder, robbery, uttering threats against a person, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, and failing to comply with release conditions.
“That was a very work intensive file,” said Sehn, adding that police had to obtain up to 40 judicial authorizations “just to track the guy down.”
“How long did it take him to get out?” asked Deputy Reeve Ray Marquette, adding that he had read in the newspaper the youth was granted bail soon after.
Sehn said the youth was released into the care of his parents in Edmonton.
“That’s insane,” said Coun. Sherri Provencal.
The youth who was wanted for four months is the only one to get bail so far. Three youth were arrested in September and also face the same charges. They can’t be identified due to the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
According to Westlock RCMP, the four youth allegedly took the woman to a remote wooded area in Westlock County where they tried to kill her and left her for dead in September 2024.
Three eyewitnesses who rescued the woman in what they described as a “horror movie,” told Town and Country Today that she appeared on the side of the road after coming out of the ditch covered in blood. She told them that she had been stabbed and left in the ditch.
The Crown is seeking to have the youth sentenced as adults if convicted.
