Alberta woman released from jail on fraudulent paperwork arrested in B.C.

Mackenzie-Dawn Hardy has been arrested in B.C. after being mistakenly released from jail in Edmonton in April.

An Edmonton woman who was released from jail on fraudulent paperwork has been arrested.

Mackenzie-Dawn Hardy, 24, was arrested along with David Joseph Wood, 27, on Tuesday by Mounties in Revelstoke, B.C.

Police say the pair was observed walking away from a stolen vehicle.

They were arrested without incident.

Cpl. Troy Savinkoff of the Alberta RCMP said he can’t confirm the relationship between Hardy and Wood, but that they’re well known to each other.

Hardy was charged with escaping lawful custody.

Wood was charged with assisting the escape of a prisoner, identity fraud, and uttering a forged document.

“We’re alleging that there were documents fraudulently made as well as he pretended to be somebody else. So that’s what those two charges refer to,” Savinkoff told CTV News Edmonton on Thursday.

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Hardy was released from the Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre northeast of Edmonton on April 25 after officials there received paperwork that her charges had been stayed.

Hardy spent much of the last month posting videos to social media claiming she was too smart for police to catch her.

Warning: Graphic language.

“This is why it’s not good advice to put out videos of yourself when you’re running from the law,” Savinkoff said. “I know for a fact a few of those locations exactly where they were filmed. So it did give us an insight into possible locations.”

An Alberta-wide warrant was issued for Hardy’s arrest last week.

In an interview with CTV News last Thursday she claimed she didn’t know the release papers were fake and said she planned to turn herself into police the following day.

RCMP confirmed to CTV News Edmonton on Monday that Hardy had not turned herself in.

Hardy was in jail awaiting trial on the following charges:

• possession of stolen property over $5,000;
• two counts of possession of stolen property under $5,000;
• impaired driving;
• flight from peace officer;
• operation while prohibited;
• two counts of fraudulent concealment;
• possession of a controlled substance - meth;
• operation while prohibited; and
• two counts of failing to comply with a release order.

Savinkoff says Hardy and Wood will be transported back to Alberta by sheriffs and a court date will be set here on the charges.

Police said the public was not initially notified of her release because she is not considered dangerous.