Update: Armed robbers caught in the Creston/Kootenay area
By Nelson Daily Editor
Two brothers sought on Canada-wide arrest warrants and considered armed and dangerous were apprehended Sunday morning near the U.S. border south of Creston, RCMP said.
Ian Michael Butz, 28, and Jason Avery Butz, 26, were arrested after an off-duty Canada Border Services Agency officer spotted the pair near Creston, RCMP Cpl. Dan Moskaluk said.
The brothers are suspects in two armed robberies that took place at a gas station and a convenience store in the Peace River region of Alberta last week.
Police, who believed the Butz brothers were wearing camouflage clothing and were attempting to flee into the United States on foot, had been expecting the pair to be armed with a sawed-off shotgun, but no weapon was recovered during the arrest on Sunday.
The robberies also involved the use of a stolen ATV quad as transportation.
Background
On Friday evening, Sept. 2 at around 8 pm the Creston RCMP upon request, attended the Canada US Border entry point at Porthills/Rykert crossing near Creston to take into custody two adult women who were refused entry into the U.S.
The women were denied entry when they were found driving a vehicle associated to the Peace River RCMP investigation of the armed robberies.
Both women from Lethbridge, are sisters ages 22 and 26 and are currently in custody, with investigators anticipating that the two will be charged in relation to the same armed robberies.
The investigation lead the Creston RCMP to believe that both Jason and Ian Butz were dropped off near the Porthills/Rykert U.S. border, by these women and were dressed in camouflage clothing and armed with the same shotgun as the one used in the robberies.
The two allegedly were attempting to enter the U.S. illegally.
An extensive search of the area was conducted throughout Friday night into the dawn hours of Saturday, with negative results for the RCMP members and a police dog team.
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