Historical artifacts from the Bowden Pioneer Museum, Indigenous items, an assault rifle and hundreds of goods stolen from central Alberta stores have been recovered by RCMP.
A man and a woman are facing charges in connection with the haul of stolen goods recovered last Thursday by the Southern Alberta Crime Reduction Unit and RCMP from Olds and Innisfail. Another man was arrested on outstanding warrants.
Police with search warrants descended on a pair of Innisfail residences and a Penhold property following a three-day investigation into multiple break and enters in the area. The thefts occurred in January and February in the Olds, Bowden and Innisfail areas.
An assault rifle with the serial number partially filed off and ammunition were found.
Truck loads of stolen items were recovered including tools, credit cards, personal documents, Indigenous items, and framed prints. Bibles and other items were also found that had been taken from Innisfail’s St. Mark’s Anglican Church.
Melanie Prohl, 30, of Innisfail, has been charged with four counts of possession of stolen property, break and enter, possession of break-in instruments and three firearms-related charges, including unauthorized possession of a firearm, possession of a prohibited firearm and tampering with a firearm serial number. She also faces two charges of not complying with the conditions of court orders.
Prohl is scheduled to appear in Red Deer provincial court on Friday.
A 32-year-old Innisfail man was arrested and charged with three counts of possession of property obtained by crime, possession of break-in instruments and possession of methamphetamine. He was released from custody and is due in Red Deer court on April 6.
Another man was also arrested on three outstanding unrelated warrants during the investigation.
The investigation continues while police go through the recovered items. The total value of the property recovered is still being determined do to the volume of property recovered and the historical value of many of the items.
Sgt. Gary Maclaren, of the Southern Alberta Crime Reduction Team, thanked members of the public who helped identify the suspects through Crime Stoppers tips.
If you suspect criminal activity occurring in your community, contact your RCMP detachment or your local police. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or online at www.P3Tips.com.
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