What began as a stolen snowmobile case turned into a cross-country sled chase for the Mounties early Wednesday morning. Vulcan RCMP attended a call from a rural homeowner reporting their snowmobile was stolen around 5 a.m.
What began as a stolen snowmobile case turned into a cross-country sled chase for the Mounties early Wednesday morning.
Vulcan RCMP attended a call from a rural homeowner reporting their snowmobile was stolen around 5 a.m. Wednesday morning, which was seen being towed on a trailer behind a truck towards Highway 529. Soon after, around 6 a.m., the the truck was located and pulled over.
A Vulcan member arrested the male driver and a physical confrontation ensued. The man escaped in the truck, nearly running over the police officer making the arrest.
Okotoks and High River RCMP attended to assist the Vulcan member and a pursuit was engaged until the truck became stuck in a snow-covered field on a rural property.
The man left the truck and began to take off on the stolen snowmobile, stopping to collect a chocolate lab which was in the truck with him, before both man and dog fled on the snowmobile.
Calgary Police Service's HAWCS helicopter came to assist and was able to locate the snowmobile stuck in a stand of trees approximately six kilometres away from where the chase began. RCMP Police Dog Services was also on scene and assisted in tracking and securing the male with RCMP members and HAWCS.
The man was arrested and taken into custody. He was taken to hospital due to minor injuries from colliding with a tree while on the snowmobile.
Tyrone Emblau, 34, of Blackie remains in custody pending a bail hearing. An RCMP media release states that at the time of his arrest, he was wanted on 29 outstanding warrants from various detachments. He will be facing 18 new charges as a result of this incident, including assault of a police officer, flight from police, and dangerous driving.
Emblau has been remanded to custody and will appear in court on Mar. 28 at 9:30 a.m. in Lethbridge.
The Mountie that made the initial arrest was not injured in the confrontation, and was able to continue actively investigating the incident.
The chocolate lab was unharmed and returned by RCMP to a family member for safekeeping.
Police determined that the truck involved was stolen from Okotoks, the trailer from Taber, and the license plate stolen from Creston, BC.
"This incident highlights the unpredictability of offenders," said Sergeant Troy Dobson of the Vulcan RCMP Detachment in a media release. "We're thankful that the citizens reported this crime to us, and allowed us to do the job we're trained to do."
"The collaboration with Calgary Police Service was also instrumental in the positive outcome today."
