A four-year RCMP investigation has led second-degree charges against four people in connection with the death of a man at a motel in Alberta, including a woman from Maple Ridge.
On April 19, Abbotsford RCMP assisted in the arrest of a 25-year-old woman in Maple Ridge. She remains in custody and has been transported to Alberta where she is awaiting her next court date.
The arrest stems from an investigation into a homicide that took place on April 29, 2020, when RCMP in the town of Innisfail, south of Red Deer, were called to the Bluebird Motel to assist EMS, who were treating a man in medical distress. Ryan James Gudwer was later declared dead at the scene.
RCMP announced on Friday that three men and a woman were each charged with second-degree murder for their alleged roles in Gudwer’s death.
“During this four-year investigation, officers have undertaken a plethora of investigative steps including forensics, surveillance, obtaining judicial authorizations and speaking to witnesses,” said police.
“As all four suspects had moved significant distances since the murder, the Alberta RCMP Major Crimes Unit began Project K-Nova designed to locate and safely arrest each suspect.”
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RCMP officers from Codiac, N.B. and Abbotsford, B.C. assisted Red Deer RCMP’s General Investigation Section and Intel Team in making the arrests over three days between April 16 and April 20.
“Since this crime our suspects relocated to different locations which presented unique challenges to our investigators” said Cpl. John Brown of the Alberta Major Crimes Unit, “With close co-ordination with our policing partners we were able to effectively locate and arrest each suspect.”
Other arrests include: a 44-year-old Red Deer man who was taken into custody in the city on April 16 and is due in Red Deer Court of Justice on May 3; a 27-year-old man who was arrested in Calgary on April 18, and is due in Red Deer court on May 7; and a 45-year-old Moncton, N.B. man who was the last one arrested on April 20 in that city. He has also been transported back to Alberta and awaits a court date.