‘He may no longer be in this community,’ Bray says of Myles Sanderson

For two days, the Regina Police Service operated on the assumption that murder suspect Myles Sanderson was in the Queen City.

That no longer appears to be the case.

“Early on Sunday, we had information that proved to be reliable that Myles Sanderson was in our community and, as a result, the Regina Police Service was assisting the RCMP in trying to locate him,” RPS Chief Evan Bray said in a video posted Tuesday to social media. “Today, we’ve received information that is leading us to believe he may no longer be in this community.

“As a result, investigations continue and although we don’t know his whereabouts, we are still looking not only within the city of Regina but (we’ve) expanded into the province as well.”

Sanderson and his brother, Damien Sanderson, were identified as suspects in the murders of 10 people — nine on the James Smith Cree Nation and one in the community of Weldon. Another 18 people were injured in the rampage.

The RCMP issued a dangerous persons alert for the brothers early Sunday, but the focus of the investigation shifted to Regina after police received a report of a possible sighting of the pair in the city’s east end.

The vehicle in which the men were believed to be travelling — a black Nissan Rogue with Saskatchewan licence plate 119 MPI — had been spotted on Arcola Avenue, so police immediately started searching for the brothers in Regina.

Even after Damien was found dead on the James Smith Cree Nation on Monday, the Regina police kept searching for Myles in the city.

Bray didn’t elaborate on what the information was that changed their thinking Tuesday, but he reiterated calls for the public’s assistance.

“If you have any information that you think could assist us in the investigation or locating and taking Myles safely into custody, we ask you to call us and give us that information,” Bray said.

The RCMP descended on the James Smith Cree Nation on Tuesday after getting reports of a possible sighting, but the Mounties’ search failed to turn up any trace of the 32-year-old suspect.

In the video, Bray had a message for the public.

“This has been a very stressful time for our province and, as a result, we want to thank you,” he said. “Thank you for the real information that you’ve been focused on (and) thank you for communicating your concerns to police.

“We need to continue to communicate with one another so that we can resolve this situation quickly and efficiently so that we can move on to not only finishing the investigation but really, trying to help a community heal through what has been a very tragic situation.”

RPS continues to support the RCMP investigation and search for Myles Sanderson. Today, police received information that is leading us to believe that he may no longer be in Regina.

The situation is dynamic & our Service is committed to joint work with our @RCMPSK partners. pic.twitter.com/qmothriIcL

— Regina Police (@reginapolice) September 6, 2022