On September 15, 2011, at about 7pm Alberta time, members of the RCMP Emergency Response Team arrested 51-year-old Russell McDiarmid who was wanted on a Canada wide warrant for the 2nd degree murder of 33-year-old Nancy Swenty of Fisher Branch, Manitoba.
McDiarmid was believed to be traveling west in a stolen 2006 Ford Ranger pick-up truck. All police agencies west of Winnipeg were notified to be on the lookout for McDiarmid and the vehicle. The vehicle was located on the morning of September 15 by an RCMP member on patrol near Canmore, Alberta.
A perimeter was immediately created and additional members converged on the location to conduct a ground search.
Investigators canvassed the area and received information that McDiarmid had been seen in the vicinity. A campsite was located that was believed to be McDiarmid’s. Police continued to close in on the accused and he was eventually located near the Three Sisters Campground in the Dead Man Flats area east of Canmore.
McDiarmid was arrested in a wooded area without incident by members of the RCMP Emergency Response Team and turned over to Canmore RCMP detachment members.
The accused has since been transported back to Manitoba and is in RCMP custody in Winnipeg at this time.
The vehicle was seized and is undergoing forensic testing.
