The Alberta RCMP announced a $10,000 reward on Friday for information leading to the arrest of Elijah Blake Strawberry, one of the two men accused of killing Rocky View County worker Colin Hough on Aug. 6.
Speaking to the media Friday afternoon, Staff Sgt. Mark Wielgosz, detachment commander at the Strathmore RCMP, said several agencies are assisting in the search. They include both the B.C. and Saskatchewan RCMP, members of the Edmonton, Calgary and Lethbridge police services, and the Alberta Sheriffs Branch.
Despite the out-of-province assistance, Wielgosz said Strawberry, 28, is thought to still be in Alberta.
Around noon on Aug. 6, two men were looking for a vehicle to steal because the truck they’d stolen a day earlier in Calgary broke down after a collision, police say.
They came across a FortisAlberta worker at a rural intersection east of Calgary and set their broken, stolen truck on fire with a plan to steal the Fortis vehicle, police allege.
Hough, 45, spotted the fire and believed the two men needed help. RCMP say Hough pulled over in his Rocky View County work truck to lend a hand.
Hough and a 39-year-old FortisAlberta employee, who was working in the area, were both shot. Hough died of his injuries. He leaves behind a wife and two young sons.
The suspects stole the county’s work truck, dumping it later about 40 kilometres northeast of the shooting scene in neighbouring Wheatland County.
Upon discovering the shooting scene and abandoned trucks, police issued a shelter-in-place alert for Wheatland County. They lifted the order three hours later and began the search for the suspects.
On Aug. 11, one of the suspects was arrested in the Edmonton area.
Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, has been charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder.
But the more than two-week-long search for Strawberry continues.
Strawberry is six feet one inch tall, weighs about 170 pounds and is described as having a light complexion and several arm and face tattoos.
Police stress that Strawberry is considered armed and dangerous. Anyone who sees the suspect is urged to call 911 and not approach.
Wielgosz said Friday that the length of the search can be frustrating at times “but that hasn’t diminished the resolve of our investigative teams.”
“It is only a matter of time before Mr. Strawberry is found,” he said.
Any person or persons having information regarding Strawberry are asked to communicate that information immediately to the Strathmore RCMP at 403-934-3535 or call 911.