Seattle,
WA – The U.S. Marshals-led Pacific Northwest Violent Offender
Task Force is seeking the public’s assistance in locating a man
convicted of rape and murder who escaped Canadian custody.
Roderick Muchikekwanape, 42, escaped from a
Canadian prison on Oct. 29, 2020. Muchikekwanape was serving a life
sentence for a brutal rape and murder that occurred in 1998 in Winnipeg,
Canada.
On Oct. 30, 2020, Muchikekwanape was seen in
Sumas, Washington and was given a ride to Bellingham. While in
Bellingham, he stopped at a Chevron gas station and asked how to catch a
bus to Seattle. Muchikekwanape is seen on camera boarding a Skagit bus
to Mount Vernon and then on another bus to Everett.
Muchikekwanape is 6 feet 1 inch, weighs 225
pounds and has black hair and brown eyes. He is an indigenous Canadian
and it is likely that he will claim to belong to a tribe in the U.S. He
is known to use aliases “Much,” “Roderick Toot Much,” “Rodney
Muchikekwanape,” “Thomas Robert Gambler” and “Paul Edward Starkes.”
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). Crimestoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for
information leading to Muchikekwapane’s arrest. If seen, call 911 and do
not approach.
The Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force
is composed of Deputy U.S. Marshals from the Western District of
Washington and other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
Since its creation in 2010, the PNVOTF has arrested almost 14,000
violent fugitives for various offenses including homicide, failure to
register as a sex offender, sex crimes, firearms and federal probation
violations.
The U.S. Marshals Service is the nation’s oldest
federal law enforcement agency. Annually, U.S. Marshals arrest more than
50 percent of all federal fugitives and serve more federal warrants than
all other federal agencies combined.
Additional information about the U.S. Marshals Service can be found
at http://www.usmarshals.gov.
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America’s
First Federal Law Enforcement Agency