Police discount sighting of shooting suspect near highway

Police say a man spotted outside a search area in central Saskatchewan was likely not the suspect wanted in a weekend shooting of two RCMP officers.

New information has come forward that has led police to doubt that the man spotted on Saturday standing in a ditch by the side of a highway near Blaine Lake, southeast of the crime scene, was the right man, RCMP Sgt. Brian Jones said Wednesday.

Police have fanned out into the bush on the lookout for Curtis Alfred Dagenais, 41, the prime suspect in the Friday shootings of Const. Robin Cameron, 29, and Const. Marc Bourdages, 26, near the farming community of Mildred, about 140 kilometres west of Prince Albert.

Jones said two drivers came forward Monday to report seeinga man Saturday on Highway 12 near Blaine Lake, 80 kilometresnorth of Saskatoon.

However,two other motorists have since told investigatorsthat they know Dagenais and he was not the man in the ditch.

Help sought from public

The manhunt continued Wednesday, with police appealing to the public for help.

Police are concentrating their search for Dagenais in a wooded area near Spiritwood, a town of 1,000 just west of Mildred, where the shooting took place.

Dagenais, whois believed to be armed and dangerous, is wanted on aCanada-wide warrant for attempted murder in the shootings of the two officers, and for firing on a third officer who was not hit.

Cameron and Bourdages wereboth listed in serious condition in intensive care in a Saskatoon hospital on Wednesday.

Dagenais sometimes got 'just ugly':legislator

Denis Allchurch, the Saskatchewan Party MLA for the riding that includes Spiritwood, said Tuesday that CurtisDagenais came to his office many times to complain about various issues.

'There were times dealing with Curtis that you could talk to him one on one and he was the nicest guy in the world to talk to.… You'd never know what kind of a mood he was in." -Denis Allchurch, the provincial legislator for the riding that includes Spiritwood

Allchurch, who cut his vacation short when he heard the news about the manhunt, said Dagenais told him more than once that he disliked the RCMP.

He said he thought Dagenais was unpredictable.

"There were times dealing with Curtis that you could talk to him one on one and he was the nicest guy in the world to talk to," Allchurch said, "and there were times that it was just ugly. You'd never know what kind of a mood he was in."

Townspeople under 'a lot of stress'

The manhunt,which is concentrated on a wooded area near Spiritwood,has putthe townon edge. A counselling centre has been set up in the Spiritwood Legion Hall to help people affected by the crime and the tension created by the search.

Gary Bridge, a counsellor dispatched to Spiritwood, said not many people have come forward to take advantage of the service, but it is there to help them. He said people are trying as best they can to carry on as usual but know it is not a normal situation.

"There's also some concern that the alleged perpetrator is still in the community and there could be some further threat of harm," Bridge said Tuesday.

"That kind of understanding causes a lot of stress in people," he added. "It can make it difficult for them to cope with their normal day-to-day lives, and we wouldn't like to see that go on for any length of time."