EDMONTON — A woman is facing a second-degree murder charge in relation to a man who was found dead on the Gift Lake Métis Settlement

On Wednesday just before 7 p.m., High Prairie RCMP responded to a call from a neighbour of an intoxicated woman at a home next door causing a disturbance.

While en-route to the home, police say another call came in that a stabbing had occurred at a residence on the settlement where the intoxicated woman was.

Mounties arrived at the home and found a man who was injured and unresponsive.

Attempts to resuscitate the man by police and emergency medical services were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead.

A short time later the woman was found at a nearby home and was arrested, police say.

According to RCMP, further investigation indicated an incident occurred between the woman and the man at his residence, and the man was stabbed.

Tara Rita Auger, 38, of Red Earth Creek has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Russell Lawrence Lamouche, 48, of the Gift Lake Métis Settlement.

Auger is scheduled to appear in High Prairie provincial court on May 31, 2021.

An autopsy is scheduled for next week at the Edmonton Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

EDMONTON — Alberta recorded fewer than a thousand new COVID-19 cases for a fifth consecutive day on Friday, as the province added 732 new cases heading into the Victoria Day long weekend. 

Active cases fell for an 11th straight day, down to 16,577, about where they were mid-April.

Two more Albertans have died of COVID-19: a Central Zone woman in her 80s and a Calgary Zone man in his 60s. 

There are now 638 Albertans in hospital receiving care for COVID-19, including 177 in intensive care units. 

The number of ICU patients fell slightly for a second straight day after nearing and exceeding record levels over the past week. 

Test positivity rate fell significantly for the first time in weeks, down to 7.39 per cent after exceeding nine per cent as far back as late April.

Vaccinations continue to grow rapidly, with Alberta Health saying a record-breaking 77,043 were administered on Thursday alone.

More than two million Albertans have now got a first shot of COVID-19 vaccine and more than 340,000 are fully immunized with two shots. 

Most students are due to return to classrooms again on Tuesday after returning to online learning for the past weeks due to record-high COVID-19 case counts. 

Alberta continues to have the highest per capita active case count of any Canadian province or territory.

The province says its data site will be updated over the long weekend, including the holiday Monday. 

Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, will return for an in-person update next week. 

EDMONTON — Police are investigating a fatal collision between a pedestrian and vehicle in the Calder area Friday afternoon.

Officers responded to 129 Avenue and 126 Street at approximately 1 p.m.

The male, whose age and identity was not release, was already dead when they arrived.

Motorists were asked to avoid the area for a few hours as police investigate.

EDMONTON — Three men are facing charges of mischief after RCMP found them looking into vehicles parked at the Quick Park lot at the Edmonton International Airport (EIA).

RCMP said they received calls of “suspicious” men looking into vehicles on Monday at approximately 9:05 p.m.

Officers located three men and arrested them.

RCMP warned Edmontonians leaving their cars at the EIA last week of a “rash of thefts” and that vehicles being broken into remains an “ongoing issue.”

EIA officials told CTV News Edmonton last week that officers and staff continue to conduct security patrols in car parks.

READ MORE: RCMP warn public of car thefts at EIA after 2 men arrested 

Geordie Wilson, 33, of Redwater was charged with mischief under $5,000 and two counts of failure to comply with a release order condition.

Mounties also charged Gregory Prince, 27, of Calgary with mischief of $5,000.

Twenty-five-year-old Jonathan Brandingen from Edmonton was also charged with mischief under $5,000, six counts of failure to comply with a probation order, and two counts of failure to comply with release order conditions.

Following bail hearings, Wilson and Prince were released from custody. Brandingen remains in police custody.

All three men are scheduled to appear in Leduc provincial court on June 24.

The RCMP are asking the public to ensure they lock their cars, use an anti-theft device, have a working car alarm, and leave no valuables in their vehicles prior to boarding their flight.

EDMONTON — A group of local healthcare workers reveled in the excitement of watching playoff hockey in-person at Rogers Place Wednesday evening. 

A dozen frontline healthcare workers were honoured during the national anthem before game one of the Stanley Cup playoffs between the Oilers and the Winnipeg Jets.

The special guests enjoyed the game in a mostly empty arena, having a night out that many haven’t been able to experience in over a year.

The game marked the first time fans have been in the building since the start of the pandemic.

Despite the Oilers falling to the Jets 4-1, the lucky spectators all left feeling like winners.

“I was super excited I’m normally a pretty big Oilers fan so this was a great surprise,” said Michelle Booth, a clinical dietician. “It was pretty special.”

“For a few split seconds watching the game and getting in on all of the action it was kind of nice to kind of remove my mind from all that’s going on with the pandemic,” added Courtney Bachman, a registered nurse.

“It was great it was kind of a nice return to somewhat of normalcy. So we were all really excited to be there.”

The 12 were picked from a draw of thousands of healthcare workers in the Edmonton region.

Another 12 will be chosen to attend game two on Friday.