By Sheri Monk

Shaunavon, a bustling, thriving town nestled in relative isolation from larger urban centres, was hit with an overdose of the city life on March 3 after an attempted armed robbery at the Rexall drugstore.
The Tuesday morning incident happened at 10:03. A lone male wearing a mask approached the pharmacy counter with a knife.
But before he could make any demands, he was scared off.

“The bottom line is, he was spooked. They (staff behind the counter) would have started yelling. Obviously there was a bit of a panic and I think he got startled,” said Sergeant Rob Embree, a member of the Shaunavon detachment of the RCMP.
The suspect, described as six feet tall and wearing a black hoodie then bolted and exited out the back door. Meanwhile, a staff member had already called 9-1-1. The Shaunavon RCMP arrived at the scene in less than a minute.

“It just so happened we had a member literally going down the street when it happened. Unfortunately, when he’s going in one door, the gentleman probably would have been going out the other door,” said Embree.
Despite the rapid response time, the suspect was even faster. The Swift Current RCMP canine unit attended the scene to track the perpetrator, but were unsuccessful.
“We brought the dog handler in and tried it with the scent, but the scent only lasted to the end of the street and then we lost that. Obviously, this time of year the weather is not conducive for that as far as hard packed snow and water.”
The Swift Current General Investigation unit attended, as did members from other nearby detachments to conduct roadblocks.
“We had set up a net and we had all the major arteries and roads covered,” Embree.
Despite the combined efforts, the suspect remains at large.
News of the attempted armed robbery shocked the town, prompting a lock-down in some facilities.
“Here in Shaunavon, something like this hasn’t happened in probably decades, so you can imagine that would have caused quite a stir. We had schools going into lock-down mode.”
While it is not certain what the man would have demanded, speculation is rampant he was after drugs.
“That’s where you get to play police officer like I do. That’s the whole thing, when you don’t catch the individual you’re sitting back and trying to psychoanalyze what this individual is thinking, what he’s doing and stuff like that.”

While Embree couldn’t say for sure what the motive was, he did acknowledge the suspect’s choice of venue could be a clue.
“You could hit any store, but he went to the drugstore and approached the staff from the pharmaceutical side.”
The investigation is continuing, though the suspect didn’t leave police a lot to work with.
“It goes into phase two of the investigation where we’re working on our sources and we’re trying to gather intelligence and we’re just continuing with our investigation. You’re doing the rock-turning side of it. Even when you do the roadblocks it’s a situation where if you stop a vehicle, what are you looking for? Is he a local that left on foot?” asked Embree.
Shaunavon has been host to a very active oil economy in recent years and though the recession slowed it for a while, the patch has picked up and that means finding a six-foot needle in a haystack may prove to be even more difficult.

“Shaunavon is very, very active in the oil trade. Not to say that was the individual that did it – the problem is, it could be local and it possibly could not be because we have lots of transients in the area. You can do down Shaunavon main street and see lots of vehicles from Alberta, Manitoba, B.C. – it’s not uncommon in this town.”
Anyone with any information should contact the Shaunavon detachment or call Crimestoppers. And while the incident may have shocked the town, people have a way of rebounding quickly.
“It’s definitely been a very effective means for keeping entertainment for coffee row that’s for sure,” said Embree.