RCMP are looking for a suspect in connection with a harrowing kidnapping incident in northern Manitoba.
Police said they were contacted on the morning of Sept. 29 by a 25-year-old victim from Bunibonibee Cree Nation, who said she’d escaped after being held against her will at a home in Gillam for 48 hours.
Manitoba RCMP said the woman told them she’d been at a bar in Thompson where she met and had drinks with a man and a woman. Police said the woman believes she was drugged, as she later woke up in a vehicle arriving in Gillam, two-and-a-half hours away.
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Police said the woman was held against her will over a two-day period, repeatedly assaulted, threatened, and had a gun pointed at her. She told police the suspects brought her with them to a grocery store, and she was able to escape from their vehicle and call for help.
RCMP investigated the allegations and arrested a 41-year-old Gillam woman on Tuesday. She’s been charged with kidnapping with a firearm, forcible confinement and theft under $5,000. While she remains in custody, the other suspect is still at large, and police believe he has fled the Gillam area.
An arrest warrant is out for Riley Champagne, 36, who faces similar charges, as well as assault with a weapon, assault, pointing a firearm and carrying a concealed weapon.
Anyone with information about Champagne is asked to call Gillam RCMP at 204-652-2200 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.
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