An Alberta woman is on the lam after Crown prosecutors say she was wrongfully released from an Edmonton-area jail last month with allegedly fake release papers.
Mackenzie Dawn Hardy, 24, is charged with several offences, including possession of stolen property, impaired driving, flight from police and driving without insurance or registration. She was arrested in March by Red Deer RCMP.
The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service confirmed Wednesday that Hardy was released from custody after staff at the Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre, about 40 kilometres northeast of Edmonton, were shown documents saying her charges were stayed.
They later learned those papers were fake.
“As soon as ACPS became aware, we responded by seeking a warrant for her arrest. The ACPS has also referred the alleged use of fraudulent documents to the RCMP for investigation,” said service spokesperson Michelle Davio in an email.
“The ACPS takes this matter very seriously and steps have been taken by all parties to ensure this cannot happen in the future.”
In an interview, RCMP Cpl. Troy Savinkoff said Hardy was released in late April and police were notified days later. He said an Alberta-wide warrant has been issued for Hardy’s arrest and efforts are being made to extend it Canada-wide.
Asked why the public wasn’t alerted to her release, he said she doesn’t pose a risk to public safety.
“She doesn’t have a record that would demonstrate a risk to the public other than the fact that she has warrants for arrest,” he said.
A woman who identifies herself as Hardy has posted videos on the social media platform TikTok, where she taunts law enforcement and denies the papers being fake.
“So, the government’s f—d and I’m an escaped inmate right now,” the woman says in one video.
“They are not going to catch me because I’m one step ahead of them — too fast for those piggies to come after me.”
In another video, she said her boyfriend was given one year to live after being diagnosed with cancer and that her release was a “gift from God.”
“I was set free right when he needed me the most,” she said.
Hundreds of social media users left comments on the videos encouraging her to turn herself in.
“I’m not running away from justice — I’m running toward life before it slips away,” she said.
Savinkoff said Hardy’s arrest is inevitable and that she might not be doing herself any favours with her social media content.
“I have no doubt that the posts that she’s making would certainly be presented to the courts,” he said.
“It’s not very intelligent to behave like this … It’s actually quite self-destructive.”
