ATHABASCA – The fire that destroyed the old Home Hardware building in Athabasca earlier this month has been deemed an act of arson, but there is insufficient evidence to lay any charges.
Athabasca RCMP are still hoping any witnesses who may have seen anything leading up to the Aug. 11 blaze will come forward, but until then the individual/individuals responsible will remain at large.
“There's not enough evidence to proceed with the case,” said Const. Jay Tessier Aug. 25. “The current status is there’s insufficient evidence. There were no cameras pointed there, despite all the businesses around, and there are no witnesses that actually saw anybody lighting anything … If people want to come forward at this point, sure, but we’ve talked to all we can at this point.”
The fire call to downtown Athabasca that day was one of 360 calls for service members of the Athabasca RCMP Detachment responded to between July 26 and Aug. 25 within the detachment area which covers everything between Rochester and Calling Lake.
Tessier also confirmed that Evan Cardinal, a Calling Lake man wanted for attempted murder after shooting another man in the leg, and narrowly missing his head with a .22 in January, was taken into custody July 19.
Another incident in Calling Lake, involving a collision between two ATVs, resulted in the death of a woman, while the driver of the other ATV was airlifted to Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton via STARS.
Police also dealt with three sexual assault complaints, including one involving a minor, which is classified as sexual interference.
There was also one assault with a weapon call in Calling Lake, where a pipe was used to injure the victim, along with 12 other assault calls throughout the detachment area, including three domestic incidents. In addition, there were four calls of uttering threats, including one where a man in Calling Lake threatened to shoot children on their way to school.
There were also several other firearms complaints, involving people shooting guns, including one within the Town of Athabasca.
A woman who decided to purchase prescription drugs online after she was unable to secure a refill locally was also charged with double-doctoring under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
“The doctors here wouldn't give her any more so she got some online; she got a Calgary physician online, and that’s a problem,” said Tessier, noting patients are only allowed prescriptions for the same medications from a single doctor.
Tessier also noted members responded to seven calls of impaired driving; four hits-and-run accidents; and two motor vehicle collisions that resulted in injuries to occupants. There were also five break-and-enter calls, all of which occurred during the week of Aug. 12-19.
Officers were also kept busy responding to numerous calls of suspicious people and vehicles, 911 hang-ups, mischief and eight Mental Health Act calls — two involving the same woman.
In the first, police were called to the Athabasca riverfront in response to a naked woman in the river near the boat launch. The second, which occurred around noon on Aug. 19, saw the same woman expose her breasts in a downtown business, after throwing a basketball at the window of another business across the street numerous times.
Five marked police vehicles, numerous officers and an ambulance responded to the commotion, along with numerous onlookers. The woman is well-known to police.
“Our hands are kind of tied with that,” said Tessier. “Our criteria for bringing someone to the hospital, the first, and major one, is if they are a danger to themselves or others, so flashing people doesn’t fit.”
