Thirty-eight days after a shocking highway shooting near Calgary that left one person dead and another injured, RCMP have brought a major manhunt to a conclusion.
“Today, just after 1 p.m., members of the Alberta major crimes unit successfully and safely arrested 28-year-old Elijah Blake Strawberry at a residence in O’Chiese First Nation,” Alberta RCMP Chief Supt. Roberta McKale told reporters at a news conference in Edmonton late Friday.
The arrest brings an end to an investigation involving police in several Alberta communities that began Aug. 6 when Colin Hough, a Rocky View County employee, was shot and killed north of Chestermere, a commuter town east of Calgary. A FortisAlberta employee was also shot and suffered what officials described as “superficial” injuries.
According to RCMP, the shooting occurred when a pair of suspects in a vehicle theft set fire to a truck they were driving after it was involved in a minor collision. Police say the suspects then tried to steal a truck driven by the Fortis employee.
Hough happened upon the scene while driving past and stopped, believing the men were in need of help. That’s when he was fatally shot.
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The two suspects fled, launching the subsequent manhunt. Police arrested one of the suspects, Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, five days later in Edmonton. He was charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder.
An arrest warrant was also issued at that time for Strawberry on a charge of second-degree murder in connection with the shooting.
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The subsequent search for Strawberry involved police in Edmonton, Calgary and Lethbridge, as well as provincial sheriffs. It eventually ended in the O’Chiese First Nation, north of Rocky Mountain House and some 250 kilometres northwest of the scene of the Aug. 6 shooting.
RCMP had offered a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to Strawberry’s arrest. McKale wouldn’t say if it was a public tip that led police to O’Chiese First Nation Friday. “The major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in another residence.”
The length of time Strawberry was able to evade police isn’t unprecedented. But Doug King, a professor of criminal justice at Mount Royal University, said investigations such as this one showcase the connectivity of all the agencies involved — and the cost of doing so.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the total cost of the investigation from start to end to the point of bringing the individuals into a court of law would have been in excess of a million dollars,” he said.
RCMP are still seeking information for their investigation into the shooting. Anyone with details is asked to call Strathmore RCMP at 403-934-3535. Anonymous information can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.
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