RED DEER – Supporters of Alberta’s wild horses have something to cheer about after months of fretting about a string of unsolved horse killings.
Wild Horses of Alberta Society president Bob Henderson received the news Jan. 20.
“We were talking yesterday morning about how depressed we were that nothing has happened,” he said from his work at UFA in Olds, Alta.
Only minutes after that conversation, cpl. Dave Heaslip of RCMP K Division’s livestock section dropped by with the news that two men and a 13-year-old boy, all from the Sundre, Alta., area, had been charged in the death of one of the horses shot near Sundre.
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“We were just going from feeling kind of down to feeling totally elated that we may see an end to these horse killings.”
Later that night, Henderson was in Airdrie, Alta., to speak to a 4-H club and for the first time in years he could offer good news about the horse killings.
Henderson is confident the charges laid so far will not be the last and that they may signify a major break in an investigation that has gone on for years.
The case pulled in police officers from several detachments, as well as Fish and Wildlife officers, other provincial government employees and volunteers who have tried to ensure no one forgets the 300 wild horses that make their home in the rugged terrain west of Sundre.
Henderson said RCMP and Fish and Wildlife officers in Sundre have been “absolutely tenacious” in their pursuit of those who shot the horses and left the bodies to scavengers. Approximately 30 wild horses have been found dead since 2002 – 20 of them in 2007.
A reward fund for information leading to arrests grew to $25,000. Henderson said the decision on whether to distribute some of that money has not yet been made.
RCMP sgt. Patrick Webb was also optimistic that the ongoing investigation would continue to bear fruit.
It has been a difficult task trying to solve the killings, he said from Calgary. The area where the horses roam is remote and witnesses are few.
Despite the challenges, he said, police have never closed the file and won’t until those responsible are caught.
Mustard Seed, a Calgary humanitarian outreach group, has confirmed in a statement that the two men charged are associated with its Mountain Aire Lodge near Sundre.
Jason Nixon, 29, Earl Alexander, 40, and the 13-year-old, who can’t be named, are scheduled to appear in provincial court in Didsbury, Alta., March 1. Each has been charged with willfully killing a horse and careless use of a firearm.
Charges are pending against a 35-year-old Calgary area man.
