Incident at Ptarmigan Inn in Hay River, N.W.T., resolved, but RCMP says suspect 'remains at large'
No injuries had been reported as of 10 a.m. Thursday, said police
An incident at the Ptarmigan Inn in Hay River, N.W.T., has been resolved, according to an update from RCMP Thursday.
In an email to CBC News shortly before 10 a.m., a spokesperson for the police said it had sent its crisis negotiators to the scene, and that no injuries had been reported. The situation was first reported by Cabin Radio.
Ash Singh, assistant manager at the Ptarmigan Inn, told CBC he arrived at the hotel around 8 a.m. to find a heavy police presence. He said they were told someone was staying in a room at the hotel who was wanted by police.
Singh added that hotel operations stopped during the incident as police and police dogs moved in and out of the building.
Singh said his understanding is the operation lasted about 12 hours. By 11 a.m., he said, the RCMP informed him they found no one in the room, and most of the officers left.
In an email response, an RCMP spokesperson said the person they were looking for is "a suspect and was wanted by the Hay River detachment. The person remains at large at this time."
The spokesperson also said they hope to release more information about what the suspect's alleged offences are and about the incident itself on Friday.
This is the second incident in Hay River in under a month. Police have also previously warned about organized crime in Hay River.
Former MLA and local business owner Jane Groenewegen said in light of those recent events, this wasn't a major surprise to her.
"This is the kind of thing that would be expected, given the amount of activity by some people in town of late," Groenewegen said.
She added that residents feel safer knowing the RCMP is cracking down on illegal activities.
"The community is feeling pretty assured that something's being done about an inordinate amount of property crime and drug trafficking and so on," Groenewegen said.
With files from Nadeer Hashmi