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Manitoba RCMP have issued a dangerous person alert for Joshua Paupanekis, 39, after the abduction of Raeanne Thomas, 20, in Pimicikamak Cree Nation.
Around 5:40 a.m. on Thursday Cross Lake RCMP responded to a report of an aggravated assault at a residence in the community about 530 kilometres north of Winnipeg.
Paupanekis went into a home and hit a 24-year-old resident with a hammer, police alleged in a news release on Thursday.
Paupanekis, who police say also had a knife, then allegedly abducted Thomas from the residence.
RCMP said Paupanekis was last seen fleeing on foot with Thomas.
Multiple police units are now searching the community for Thomas. Police believe she is in immediate danger.
Police ask the public not to approach Paupanekis. He is considered armed and dangerous, they said.
Mounties issued a dangerous person alert for Paupanekis through the Alert Ready system just after 11 a.m. Thursday.
Anyone with information on his or Thomas’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Cross Lake RCMP detachment at 204-676-2600.
