Manhunt ends as kidnap suspect arrested, woman safe

A manhunt for a 39-year-old man accused of abducting a 20-year-old woman in a northern Manitoba First Nation came to an end Friday morning, with police arresting the suspect and locating the woman safely.

In a news release, RCMP said officers received information shortly after 11 a.m. that led them to a home in Pimicikamak Cree Nation, roughly 775 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

“Joshua Paupanekis was taken into custody without incident,” RCMP said in a release issued around noon. “Raeanne Thomas was also located safely in the residence with minor injuries and taken to the nursing station as a precaution.

“Over the past 24 hours, the Manitoba and Saskatchewan RCMP have deployed multiple units, including a specialized search plane, and dozens of officers from across both provinces to Pimicikamak Cree Nation to search for a male suspect and the female he abducted.”

The conclusion of the manhunt was first reported by Pimicikamak Cree Nation Chief David Monias in a social media post.

“We have been advised by RCMP that both suspect and the victim have been located,” Monias wrote on Facebook.

“The victim is safe and is currently undergoing medical examination and care. The suspect has been arrested and is now in police custody.”

“Thank God,” Thomas’s father, Dennis Ross, told the Free Press after his daughter was located. He declined further comment.

The news comes more than 24 hours after police issued a dangerous-person alert, sending notifications to mobile phones across the province as officers searched for Paupanekis and Thomas, the latter of whom investigators believed was in immediate danger, in and around Pimicikamak Cree Nation.

“Based on this information, the immediate public safety risk associated with this incident has been resolved, and the community is no longer at risk from the suspect,” Monias said.

He thanked the community of Cross Lake, those who checked on neighbours and family, and RCMP and first responders for their swift action.

“We ask that community members respect the privacy of the victim and family and allow law enforcement and medical professionals to continue their work,” Monias said.

The suspect’s mother, who in a text message to the Free Press pleaded with her son to turn himself in on Thursday, declined further comment Friday.

“Please my son Josh, turn yourself in,” Kimberlee Johnson wrote in a text message that she sent to a friend to share with the Free Press.

“If you really love Raeanne, let her go. Don’t hurt her. She’s a sweet young girl. Her family is waiting for her, and I’m waiting for you, too. I don’t want her hurt, please.”

Officers were called to a Pimicikamak home at about 5:40 a.m. on Thursday after a man, alleged to be Paupanekis, forced his way inside and attacked a 24-year-old man with a hammer, RCMP said. Thomas was abducted at knifepoint.

RCMP said Paupanekis was believed to be armed and dangerous and warned the public not to approach him if spotted. He is also known by the name Joshua McKay.

RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Paul Manaigre said Thursday the incident was being treated as a case of intimate partner violence, though he could not confirm whether the suspect and victim were still in a relationship.

On Friday, Manaigre said it’s difficult to quantify how helpful putting out the rare emergency alert was.

“The results of that, ideally, with that community being rather large, it helps get the message throughout that region that this was going on, and not relying on social media or word of mouth, which possibly could take longer,” he said.

“This was instantaneous. Some people may have decided to assist for that reason who otherwise may not have known. But it’s tough to quantify. But what happened, and the level of violence used, we felt it was appropriate, so hopefully it did help.”

Eight alerts, including Thursday’s, were issued in Manitoba since 2020, said Karen Kheder, a spokeswoman for Pelmorex Corp., which operates the Alert Ready system.

Several factors led to the alert. First, Manaigre said Thursday, it was a very rare type of incident (an aggravated assault, followed by an armed kidnapping).

“It was also not known if the suspect had fled the community, so the situation was not contained,” he wrote in an email. “Police were also very concerned that the event posed a significant threat to cause death or grievous bodily harm to the public — in this instance, to the kidnapped victim.

“Finally, given the entirety of the situation and that the location of the suspect and victim was unknown, it was essential to use every communication tool available to warn the public. The victim’s safety was paramount.”

Manaigre said the search had mostly focused on the community, but before investigators were able to track where the pair was eventually found on Friday, plans were to expand the search area to the surrounding wooded areas.

“That planning was in place for today to start pushing outward,” he said.

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca