A tense standoff ended Thursday night when police arrested a murder and kidnapping suspect who had been holed up inside a Sturgeon Landing home.
Jonas Budd, 43, was taken into custody “without incident” at about 10:30 pm, RCMP said. He faces seven charges, including first-degree murder and kidnapping with a weapon.
Mounties surrounded the home Thursday morning and began communicating with Budd, who had evaded police for about 30 hours
Budd is accused of abducting Kayla Natomagan, 17, from a home in Lac La Ronge, a northeastern Saskatchewan reserve, shortly after 3 am Wednesday morning.
He is also accused of shooting to death Dustin Bird, 17, who was inside the home. Media reports identified Bird as Natomagan’s boyfriend.
Shortly before noon on Wednesday, after an Amber Alert was issued, RCMP advised that Cranberry Portage Mounties had located Natomagan “safe and sound.”
That’s when the RCMP said Budd, still considered armed and dangerous, had fled on foot into the bush “in the area of Cranberry Portage.”
In addition to first-degree murder and kidnapping, Budd is charged with break and enter, uttering threats, pointing a weapon, possessing a dangerous weapon and possessing a firearm while prohibited.
Police said Budd is the estranged common-law partner of Natomagan’s mother. The woman had a restraining order against Budd, the community’s chief told APTN.
Sturgeon Landing is 70 km southwest of Cranberry Portage, which in turn is a 450-km drive from Lac La Ronge.
Budd is scheduled to appear in La Ronge Provincial Court on Monday.
See our print edition Monday for more.
