Sask. couple helped police find mass stabbing suspect

Richard Orenchuk doesn’t consider himself or his wife heroes, but once he got a call on Sept. 7 that Myles Sanderson may have stolen a vehicle from the property next to his, they wanted to do something.

Sanderson was the prime suspect wanted in connection with a mass stabbing on James Smith Cree Nation and in Weldon, Sask. that left 10 dead and 18 injured.

“I knew that’s close to us. The combine couldn’t go fast enough. I parked the combine and ran to my truck. I burned out of the field and went down to her yard,” Orenchuk

He called his wife who was finished work in Wakaw and picking up their 2-year-old, to tell her not to go home because it could be unsafe.

As his wife Shawna Orenchuk was stopped at an intersection, she asked her husband about the vehicle in question.

“She said sorry what was it again?”

Orenchuk told her it was a white Chevy Avalanche.

Shawna was almost certain the truck in question turned off the highway to go to First Point Beach, past Cemetery Road.

The way it turned the corner and flew down the road, made her jump into gear and she started following it.

The pair, still on the phone assessed the risk, but knew time was crucial to reduce the possibility of any other people being injured or killed.

"I was thinking greater good. I’m thinking that if he’s about two miles past or further – I’m not concerned she’s in any real danger,” because of the distance between them.

He called 911 and within minutes an emergency alert was issued. The alert led to more tips concerning the truck's location, according to police.

“I think it was just the adrenaline knowing this guy is on the loose and we finally have the opportunity to catch him now that he is sighted,” he said.

Sanderson's truck was forced off the road by RCMP near Rosthern. He went into medical distress and died after he was taken into custody. His cause of death is still under investigation.

The other suspect in the stabbings, Sanderson's brother Damien, was found dead on James Smith Cree Nation on Sept. 5. Police do not believe his injuries were self-inflicted.

Many unanswered questions remain for those living in the rural community like where Sanderson was in the hours and days leading up to his capture - with so many potential places to hide out, according to Orenchuk.

“There’s speculation that he was camped out or hiding for a couple days at another yard that has a whole bunch of machinery, so you hide under a whole bunch of machinery,” he said.