An Alberta woman on the lam for more than a month after being wrongfully released from an Edmonton-area jail has been arrested by B.C. RCMP.
Alberta RCMP said in a news release that 24-year-old Mackenzie Dawn Hardy, as well as alleged accomplice, 27-year-old David Joseph Wood, had been arrested in Revelstoke, B.C., on Thursday.
Hardy had been charged with several offences, including possession of stolen property, impaired driving, flight from police and driving without insurance or registration and was arrested in March by Red Deer RCMP.
The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service said earlier this month that Hardy was released after staff at the Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre, about 40 kilometres northeast of Edmonton, were shown documents saying her charges were stayed — but those papers were false.
According to the news release, Red Deer RCMP determined that Wood conspired with Hardy and assisted with the fraudulent release. An arrest warrant was issued for Wood last week.
The pair were arrested after a patrol officer with Revelstoke RCMP observed two individuals recognized as Hardy and Wood walking away from a stolen vehicle, police said.
In addition to Hardy’s outstanding warrants, she has additionally been charged with escaping lawful custody, police said.
Wood has been charged with assisting the escape of a prisoner, identity fraud and uttering a forged document.
A woman who identifies herself as Hardy posted videos on the social media platform TikTok, where she taunts law enforcement and denied that the papers were fake.
“As she was ‘on the lam’, she was quite active on social media platforms, being very vocal about how she was out and running from the law,” said RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Troy Savinkoff in an interview.
Savinkoff said it was important for RCMP to arrest Hardy in a timely fashion.
“It’s really not advisable when you’re out running from the law to essentially taunt police,” he said.
Both Hardy and Wood have been taken before a Justice of the Peace and remanded into custody, police said.
They will be taken back to Alberta where they will be brought before the courts regarding future court dates.
