EDMONTON — July marks the 90th anniversary of the arrival of the ‘Mad Trapper of Rat River’ to Canada, who’s widely known as a mysterious trapper that shot three RCMP officers during the largest manhunt in Canadian history.

With the help of Indigenous guides, the Mad Trapper was eventually found and killed on the Eagle River, Yukon, on Feb. 17, 1932, according to a news release from Myth Merchant Films.

“This was really the first big electronic media story,” Michael Jorgensen, a producer and filmmaker for Myth Merchant Films in Alberta, said.

“This was the first time radio had gone live to broadcast, this hunt that went on for 49 days in the arctic.”

Despite photos being sent out and thousands of tips from the public, the Mad Trapper’s identity has never been established.

“This has been a very enigmatic and Canadian character and I’ve always been very interested in his origin story. That’s the missing piece,” Jorgensen added.

In 2007, Myth Merchant Films secured permission to exhume the body to conduct an examination of the remains and retrieve leftover DNA samples which was documented in the film Hunt for the Mad Trapper. Now, with the help of forensic specialists, experts are attempting to resume the search for his relatives.

David Mittelman, the CEO of Othram, told CTV News Edmonton his team leveraged forensic grade genome sequencing to compile a comprehensive genealogical profile for the Mad Trapper.

“The biggest challenge up front is that here we’re trying to identify someone who is now deceased and it’s been 90 years so the DNA’s not in the greatest shape,” Mittelman explained.

“We’ve built a really good pipeline that can access even the most challenging evidence.”

“We’re one step closer to knowing who he was, why he came here and what his motives were,” Jorgensen added.

‘EVERYONE DESERVES A NAME’

So far, Mittelman said they’ve discovered the Mad Trapper has strong familial ties to Sweden and is Swedish-American. The early analysis suggests his lineage hails from the Swedish towns of Hånger, Kävsjö, and Kulltorp, and is potentially linked to the surnames Magnusson and Svensdotter.

To help aid in the investigation, Mittelman is opening it up to the public, asking individuals to submit their DNA to help track down the Mad Trapper’s ancestors.

“If you think this matches your family history and you’ve participated in a commercial DNA company you can contribute your DNA profile with us,” Mittelman told CTV News.

Mittelman said Othram will use their unique technology to access evidence otherwise inaccessible.

“Everyone deserves a name,” he said.

“It’s never too late to bring people back into the fold and connect them to family members and create a little bit of a closure or close the loop on that investigation.”

“I think if we’re going to identify him it’s gonna be in the next year,” Jorgensen added. “If not in the next year we probably will never know who this individual is.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Ryan Harding

EDMONTON — Alberta recorded 387 new cases over the last three days as case counts and test positivity continue to rise. 

The province’s Monday report covered data from Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Alberta has exceeded 60 new daily cases the last seven straight days after doing so just once during the rest of July. 

Over that time, the seven-day rolling average of test positivity rose to 1.80 per cent, about where it was during the third week of June. 

Both daily new cases and test positivity are considered leading indicators that hint at how the province’s COVID-19 status will change over the coming weeks. 

Active cases rose to 1,083 in Monday’s report, the highest value since June 29. 

Meanwhile, hospitalizations and deaths remain stable or declining, but both are considered to be lagging indicators that follow from rising case counts and test positivity. 

There are 83 COVID-19 patients in hospital including 21 in intensive care units. No new deaths were reported over the past three days, leaving the province’s death toll at 2,322.

Nearly a month after removing virtually all public health restrictions, COVID-19 case counts in Alberta started to rise after declining for weeks. 

On Friday, the province reported 173 new cases after removing dozens of cases from December that were entered more than once in error. The increase was the largest since June 11.

The province is averaging about one COVID-19 death per day over the past week with 19 Albertans having died due to the coronavirus since July 1. 

Data from the previous waves indicates hospitalizations begin to rise about two weeks after cases increase. Deaths follow the pattern about two weeks after hospitalizations rise.

The number of Albertans vaccinated against COVID-19 continues to grow though the pace has slowed significantly over the past weeks. 

As of Monday, more than 75 per cent of eligible Albertans have had a first shot and 63.4 per cent have had a second dose.  

Areas located in the Edmonton and Calgary health zones continue to have the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the province while 14 out of the 20 areas with the lowest vaccination rates are found in the north health zone. 

Alberta Health will next provide an update COVID-19 numbers on Tuesday afternoon.

EDMONTON — A woman is in hospital with serious injuries after she crashed her vehicle during a police chase on Jasper Avenue early Monday morning.

Traffic was closed on Jasper Avenue between 123 to 124 Streets and 102 Avenue for several hours Monday morning.

An officer in a marked vehicle observed a black Chevrolet Silverado driving toward them in the wrong laneat approximately 3:40 a.m., police said in a statement. Bystanders told the officer the driver could be impaired.

A traffic stop was attempted but the Silverado fled at high speed westbound along Jasper Avenue, EPS said.

“Due to the concern for public safety, given the operator’s driving patterns, the officer pursued the vehicle,” the release read.

The femaledriver attempted to turn northbound onto 124 Street from Jasper Avenue when she lost control and collided with a light pole and tree on the west sidewalk near Floc Boutique, Edmonton police said.

A struggle between the officer and driver of the crashed vehicle ensued and the officer deployed their Taser, police added.

The driver of the Chevrolet Silverado was taken to hospital where she remains in serious, but stable condition.

Two other people were inside the Silverado but did not report any injuries to police.

Police say they located drugs and firearms inside the vehicle.

The province’s police watchdog, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), will investigate the incident.

EDMONTON — The City of Edmonton is under a severe thunderstorm watch, meaning conditions are favourable for thunderstorms to form.

The potential storm could cause strong winds, large hail and heavy rain, according to Environment Canada.

Areas south of Edmonton are also under a severe thunderstorm warning, meaning a storm has formed or is about to form in the area.

The storms near Red Deer and Crestomere are “capable of producing very strong wind gusts, nickel to ping pong ball size hail and heavy rain,” according to Environment Canada.

“Take cover immediately, if threatening weather approaches,” added Environment Canada.

Areas to the northwest and southeast of Edmonton are also under a severe thunderstorm warning.

EDMONTON — Scenes for a documentary focused on the Canadian soldiers who died in the Afghanistan War were filmed in and near Edmonton Sunday.

The film is called Fallen Heroes: Their Journey Home, it’s being done by the Combined Forces Production Collaborative, in collaboration with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Foundation.

“This story touches every soldier, sailor, aviator and their families across the country and must be told,” said the production team on their GoFundMe page for the project.

One of the scenes filmed was a recreation of the Highway of Heroes in Ontario. That was the road going from CFB Trenton to Toronto that soldiers who died in Afghanistan were driven down when brought back to Canada.

“What started happening when they came home was people started going out onto the bridges, the side of the highway, waving flags, signs, showing their support for the troops,” said Don Fraser, a retired member of the Canadian military.

On Saturday, dozens came out to wave Canadian and Lebanese flags at the 82 Street Henday overpass. They were extras in the movie, and drivers on the Anthony Henday below also showed a lot of support.

“It is a great thing, you see the truck sitting there, people honking, the flags waving, people are waving back, it’s almost emotional… it kind of reminds me when we came home,” said Fraser. “It’s kind of a proud emotional moment.”

Crews were also filming in Sturgeon County over the weekend.

The team hopes to release the feature-length film in April 2022. Short films on the Ramp Ceremonies in Afghanistan and the Highway of Heroes were also made by the group.