Editor’s note: this story has been updated with additional details on the charges
CREIGHTON, Sask. – A man has been charged with first-degree murder following a lengthy standoff in northern Saskatchewan. Jonas Budd, 43, is alleged to have killed a teen and then abducted his girlfriend Wednesday morning on the Lac La Ronge First Nation.
Budd was arrested late Thursday evening following the standoff in Sturgeon Landing. News of his arrest came from his sister, Joyce Budd, on Facebook.
“End of it. My brother is in custody. Thank you for the support to many family and friends and friends of Jonas’ and new friends made through this difficult time. God bless and thank you Constable Brad Rawlins.”
Mounties say Budd was taken into custody around 10:30 p.m. on Thursday. Around 40 officers had surrounded the home of one of Budd’s relatives in Sturgeon Landing, close to the Manitoba boundary, on Thursday morning.
READ MORE: Police in standoff with Jonas Budd in Sturgeon Landing, Sask.
The search for Budd began in Manitoba and Saskatchewan on Wednesday after Dustin Bird, 17, was fatally shot. An Amber Alert was issued for his 17-year-old girlfriend of the Lac La Ronge First Nation.
That was cancelled when she was found unharmed near Cranberry Portage in Manitoba, about 450 kilometres from her home.
READ MORE: Northern Sask. community mourns loss of 17-year-old boy
Budd is charged with the following:
- First-degree murder;
- Kidnapping with a weapon;
- Uttering threats;
- Pointing a weapon;
- Possessing a dangerous weapon;
- Possessing a firearm while prohibited; and
- Break and enter.
He is scheduled to appear in La Ronge provincial court on Monday morning.
With files from The Canadian Press
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