‘Our officers will continue to play a role:’ Bray on Sanderson investigation

It has been just over two weeks since the manhunt for Myles and Damien Sanderson came to an end, but Regina Police Chief Evan Bray says his service will remain involved in the ongoing investigation.

After the murders Sept. 4 on the James Smith Cree Nation and in Weldon, Regina police got a report the Sanderson brothers had been spotted in a stolen vehicle in Regina.

Bray says while police treated the situation like the Sandersons were in the city, officers weren’t able to locate the brothers because tips were tough to come by.

“Our police service got very involved because we had some very reliable information come in that put the suspect in our city. As a result, we set up a whole investigative team that worked with the RCMP,” Bray told Gormley on Thursday.

“Ultimately, what happened was we got that information around lunchtime on the Sunday, but then we never heard anything else. It became very quiet and despite all the aggressive work being done trying to locate (Myles), we weren’t able to ever definitively put him down in the city or anywhere in the province of course until that fatal day outside of Rosthern.”

Myles Sanderson was captured by RCMP officers south of Rosthern on Sept. 7. He subsequently went into what the Mounties called “medical distress” and was pronounced dead at a Saskatoon hospital.

Bray said police had good reason to believe Sanderson was in the city, as he used to live here and had connections in the area.

Bray hopes that now the dust has settled a little bit, Regina police can help the RCMP and others compile a timeline of how the events unfolded and determine if Sanderson was ever in Regina.

“I expect our officers will continue to play a role through the investigative process, because there was a lot of information generated in that time through our officers,” Bray said.

“The one thing that I do know is that while this manhunt was on, there were a lot of people very scared to say anything because Myles was proven to be very violent, so people weren’t really willing to come forward with information, which is I think what led to a challenge trying to locate him. Now that things have unfolded the way they have, I think we’re going to see more and more of this told.

“Through those processes — not only only the RCMP investigation but any of these ancillary processes that are running — there will be more and more information when it comes to light and helps us understand what went down.”

Ten people were killed and 18 were injured during the rampage. Damien Sanderson’s body was found Sept. 5 on the James Smith Cree Nation.

On Wednesday, Saskatchewan’s chief coroner announced a public inquest will be held into the murders. A second inquest will be held to investigate the circumstances of Myles Sanderson’s death.