Woman found safe in reported abduction in Sherridon

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This article was published 04/07/2023 (881 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A woman believed to have been abducted from a remote, northern Manitoba community has been found safe but a suspect is still at large, police say.

Mounties from the Cranberry Portage detachment found Angelica McKay unharmed near Cold Lake around 2 p.m. Tuesday.

The 29-year-old woman had been reported to police as the victim of a possible abduction shortly before 6 a.m., in the nearby community of Sherridon.

Rory Thomas, 29, is considered a suspect, and he remains at large, police said. Investigators believe he is armed and dangerous, RCMP said in a release.

A large number of police, assisted by the RCMP emergency response team, were on scene throughout the day in Sherridon, roughly 820 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.

“It’s the talk of the community. Everybody is calling or messaging each other,” local resident Michelle Reimer said, describing how she watched from her window as police carrying rifles and dressed in tactical gear searched homes in the area.

“They were going door-to-door.”

Reimer, who moved to Sherridon from Winnipeg 32 years ago, said the normally quiet community was on high alert, before news of McKay’s safe recovery spread.

According to data from Statistics Canada, only 56 people lived in the community in 2021.

“This isn’t a normal thing here… In Sherridon, you don’t have to lock your doors at night. You don’t have to worry about your kids, because everybody looks out for everybody else. It’s a safe place.”

Reimer said she plans to remain inside her home until Thomas is apprehended.

The area is surrounded by thick woods, rivers and lakes, so navigating the terrain would be difficult for somebody on foot. There is only one road into town, which provides access to Highway 10, she added.

The highway connects to Cranberry Portage and Flin Flon, which are both less than 115 km from Sherridon.

Investigators previously asked residents from all three communities to be on alert and call police if they see anything suspicious

Thomas is described as six-foot and 196 pounds. He has short black hair and facial hair. He also has a large dragon tattoo on the left side of his face and tattoos over his eyes and cheeks.