Woman held captive, assaulted for 48 hours: RCMP

Police say they have arrested one person and are searching for another after a woman was abducted, held captive and assaulted over two days.

A 25-year-old woman from Bunibonibee Cree Nation called RCMP shortly after 8:15 a.m. on Sept. 29 and said she had just escaped from a vehicle. Officers met her at a business on Mattonnabee Avenue in Gillam.

She told police she had had a few drinks with a man and a woman she met with in a bar in Thompson. She believes she was drugged, and she awoke in a vehicle as they were arriving in Gillam, RCMP said in a news release Thursday.

The woman was forcefully taken into a home and held against her will.

“She stated she had been repeatedly assaulted, had a firearm pointed at her and was threatened with physical harm if she tried to leave the residence,” RCMP said.

She escaped from a vehicle and called police when all three people drove to a grocery store.

Police arrested Crystal Nepitabo, 41, of Gillam, on Tuesday. She is charged with kidnapping with a firearm, forcible confinement and theft under $5,000. She was remanded into custody.

RCMP are searching for a man they believe has fled the Gillam area. Riley Champagne, 36, is charged with kidnapping with a firearm, forcible confinement, and offences related to assault and weapons. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Court records show Champagne has convictions for drug offences, unauthorized possession of a weapon, and mischief to property.

Nepitabo has no criminal convictions, but at the time of her arrest was before the court on charges of possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking and possession of stolen property.

Police asked anyone who knows where Champagne is asked to call Gillam RCMP at 204-652-2200 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca