As of Wednesday, second degree murderer and Drumheller Institution prisoner William Wade Bicknell is still on the lam after giving an institution guard the slip during a temporary absence, stealing firearms and a vehicle while returning to Drumheller from Edmonton.
Bicknell, 42, overtook a prison guard who was driving him back from Edmonton to Drumheller on Thursday evening and gained control of the vehicle.
The two made their way back to Edmonton, with the escort as a hostage, where Bicknell acquired several firearms and a quantity of ammunition. The two then travelled to a rural residence in the Chipman area, northeast of Edmonton, where Bicknell forced his way into the residence and forcefully took vehicle keys from the homeowner. It is believed that Bicknell knew the homeowner.
Prior to leaving the residence, Bicknell disabled the telephone and corrections vehicle and left both individuals with instructions to not call police.
He fled the residence in a 2009 Grey Chevrolet Impala Alberta Licence CXE - 602 leaving both the homeowner and corrections employee uninjured, who later contacted RCMP.
Prison officials are not saying why Bicknell was granted the leave of absence, due to privacy legislation. Officials hadn’t said whether Bicknell was handcuffed or restrained, and Correctional Service of Canada is reviewing the incident to address safety and security issues, the Calgary Herald reported.
Bicknell was sentenced to life in prison in October 2003 for second-degree murder after he beat a woman to death with a baseball bat and dumped her body near a dam in Mission, B.C.
The case made headlines as the “Mr. Big” sting. An undercover police officer posing as fictitious organized crime boss Mr. Big had Bicknell confess to murdering Angela Steer of Maple Ridge, B.C. after she threatened to report his involvement with marijuana growing operations to police.
