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Man pursued by police falls through river ice, disappears in Edmonton

EDMONTON — Alberta's police watchdog is investigating after a man being pursued by officers fell through the ice on a river in Edmonton and disappeared. Officers were trying to stop the man on a bike for a bylaw infraction, but he fled into a ravine.
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A woman walks across the Walterdale Bridge spanning the ice-covered North Saskatchewan River, in Edmonton, on Friday, Dec. 27, 2019. Alberta's police watchdog is investigating after a man being pursued by officers fell through the river ice in Edmonton and disappeared. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

EDMONTON — Alberta's police watchdog is investigating after a man being pursued by officers fell through the ice on a river in Edmonton and disappeared.

Officers were trying to stop the man on a bike for a bylaw infraction, but he fled into a ravine.

Shortly after, the man was seen heading toward the south bank of the North Saskatchewan River, just east of the Walterdale Bridge.

Police say officers told the man to stop, but he jumped from the river bank onto the ice and drifted away.

He went under the water moments later.

Police say they don't know the man's identity and that the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team has been notified.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press