U.S. Marshals on the hunt for Roderick Muchikekwanape, who escaped Mission Institution’s minimum security facility last fall, have released new details in an appeal for public assistance.
The service’s Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force has confirmed the route the 42-year-old convicted murderer took after he walked away from the unfenced prison on Oct. 29, 2020.
His last known sighting was in Sumas, Washington the following day, a March 18 press release from the U.S. Marshals Service said.
From there he was given a ride to Bellingham, where he stopped at a Chevron gas station and asked how to catch a bus to Seattle, officials said, and he was captured on camera boarding a Skagit bus to Mount Vernon, followed by another bus to Everett.
Muchikekwanape is described as six-feet, one-inches tall, weighing 225 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.
Officials said they suspect he will claim to belong to an Indigenous band in the U.S., and that he is known to use aliases such as “Much,” “Roderick Toot Much,” “Rodney Muchikekwanape,” “Thomas Robert Gambler” and “Paul Edward Starkes.”
Muchikekwanape had been serving a life sentence in Canada. In 1998, he was convicted of murdering Kimberly Clarke in Winnipeg as she was walking home from a party. Clarke was 36-years old, and a mother of three.
Clarke’s body was found floating in the Red River, which passes through the center of Winnipeg. She had been sexually assaulted and battered, according to the autopsy report.
On Oct. 29, when prison staff were conducting the end-of-night head count at 10 p.m., they realized that Muchikekwanape was not present, Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) said in a news release after the escape.
He left the prison with a number of his personal belongings, an amount that “could fit into the size of a duffle bag,” and he was last seen in the prison at 7 p.m., Mission RCMP said on Oct. 30.
“Anyone who has had contact with Muchikekwanape or has any information about his whereabouts is urged to contact the U.S. Marshals at 1-877-Wanted-2 (1-877-926-8332), submit a tip using USMS Tips or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).”
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