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In the four days between his stabbing spree and when he was caught, Myles Sanderson didn’t stray too far from the James Smith Cree Nation, the stabbing inquest heard Monday.
The presentation of evidence ended Monday — the inquest’s 11th day — after an appearance by RCMP Sgt. Evan Anderson, who put together a presentation on the efforts to find Sanderson and what the Mounties believe he was doing in that time.
The last person Sanderson killed was Wesley Petterson in Weldon, shortly after 7 a.m. on Sept. 4, 2022. After that, police believe he drove the black Nissan Rogue he’d stolen into bushland near Crystal Springs, which is about 60 kilometres away from the James Smith Cree Nation.
Then he spent the next three days camping out in the trees and bush closer to nearby Wakaw. In his presentation, Anderson said Sanderson stole food, drinks and bedding from the garage of a house nearby – the same one where he would later steal his last vehicle, a white Chevrolet Avalanche. The bedding and food debris were later found in the trees.
On the afternoon of Sept. 7, RCMP say Sanderson broke into that house and stole the Avalanche, and the RCMP caught up with him on Highway 11 near Rosthern. Sanderson wouldn’t stop, so RCMP officers ran the truck off the road and into the ditch, where Sanderson was arrested.
Anderson’s presentation explained that shortly after he was arrested, Sanderson went into “medical distress.” He was taken to hospital in Saskatoon and died shortly thereafter.
Because his death happened while he was in police custody, a coroner’s inquest was triggered; it will take place next month in Saskatoon.
The RCMP presentation said more than 500 police members from 10 provinces were involved in the search and investigation. Between Sept. 4 and Sept. 7, the RCMP got 578 calls for service related to the attacks or possible sightings of Myles, Damien Sanderson or the vehicle they were believed to have. The RCMP also got about 80 tips from the general public and Crime Stoppers.
An emergency alert was issued in Regina after police got a tip Myles and Damien were spotted in the city but, as the RCMP have said before, they now believe Myles was never in the city.
In those four days, the RCMP did ground searches around James Smith with the help of emergency response teams from Alberta and Ottawa, air searches were done with the help of Alberta RCMP, Saskatoon Police Service, Civil Air Search and Rescue Association, and other officers did everything from cellphone monitoring to monitoring banking activity, to collecting and reviewing video surveillance.
Earlier on Monday, the inquest heard from an employee at the Parole Board of Canada, and from two Elders who’d worked with Sanderson in prison.
Anderson was the last witness to present evidence to the inquest. The presiding coroner is expected to charge the jury with their duties on Tuesday morning, and it could be a couple of days before the jury comes back with its recommendations.
