A man walking his dog in a Calgary park was forced into the trunk of his own car and driven out of the city.
Calgary police say it happened just after midnight on August 18. The victim, a 31-year-old man, was approached by another man who threatened him with a knife.
A physical altercation followed. Two more men arrived, and the three pushed the victim into the trunk of his car before driving to the outskirts of the city.
He was released at Wagon Wheel Crescent near Balzac, and the suspects drove off in his vehicle.
What happened next
The victim sustained minor injuries and flagged down a passing motorist, who called RCMP.
Officers later tracked the stolen car to the northeast Calgary community of Rundle. It then left the city at high speed and, with the assistance of the police helicopter and RCMP, was followed to Innisfail, where it stopped.
RCMP arrested the woman driving the vehicle and two male passengers.
There were also two children in the car.
The charges
Tiera Sedentopf, 25, of Calgary, is charged with possession of stolen property over $5,000 and dangerous driving. She is scheduled to appear in court on Friday, September 18.
Kyle Fraser, 31, of Calgary, is charged with kidnapping, robbery, possession of a dangerous weapon, possession of an assault weapon, and two counts of breach of conditions. He remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday, September 16.
Danny Sawa Sawa, 21, of Calgary, is charged with kidnapping and robbery. He remains in custody and was scheduled to appear in court Friday.
None of the allegations has been proven in court.
Police are looking for a fourth person
Investigators say they are seeking to identify another person believed to have been involved in the kidnapping.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Calgary police at 403-266-1234.
To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at calgarycrimestoppers.org.
What kidnapping means as a charge
Kidnapping under the Criminal Code covers confining, imprisoning or forcibly seizing a person against their will and carrying them away.
It's among the more serious offences in the code, carrying a maximum of life imprisonment, with mandatory minimums where a firearm is used or where the offence is committed for a criminal organization.
That's distinct from forcible confinement, which covers holding someone against their will without the element of moving them. The difference here is the drive to the city's outskirts.
Police have not indicated whether they believe the victim was targeted or selected at random.
The chase went about 120 kilometres
The distance is the part that stands out.
Officers tracked the stolen car to Rundle in northeast Calgary. From there it left the city at high speed and was followed to Innisfail, roughly 120 kilometres north on the QEII, before it came to a stop.
Calgary police used HAWCS, the Helicopter Air Watch for Community Safety, which is the reason a pursuit like that can continue at all. Air support lets officers on the ground back off while keeping the vehicle in sight, which is how a high-speed flight ends in a parking lot rather than a collision.
Most police services in Canada restrict or prohibit ground pursuits at speed, because the risk to bystanders usually outweighs the value of the arrest. Air support changes that calculation.
RCMP made the arrests once the vehicle stopped, which is standard once a pursuit crosses out of municipal jurisdiction. Innisfail is RCMP-policed, roughly halfway between Calgary and Red Deer.
The two children
Police have said only that two children were in the vehicle when it was stopped in Innisfail.
They haven't released their ages, whether they were in the car during the kidnapping, or what happened to them afterward.
If you were in the area
Police haven't named which park the incident began in.
Anyone in northeast Calgary or around Balzac with doorbell or dash camera footage from the overnight hours of August 18 is asked to contact police. Most systems have overwritten that date by now, though cloud backups may not have.
Calgary police can be reached at 403-266-1234.
Sources
Calgary Police Service news release, August 2026
Criminal Code of Canada, kidnapping and forcible confinement provisions
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