ELK POINT, Alta. - RCMP swarmed a reserve in northeastern Alberta on Wednesday after a tip four escaped prisoners from a Regina jail had been spotted, but the escapees were not found.

RCMP Cpl. Wayne Oakes said police got a call from a reserve resident about 11:30 a.m. and for the next 10 hours police on the ground and in the air combed the Frog Lake First Nation.

"A tip came in from the community," explained Oakes. "Someone called and said, 'hey, I think that those guys are here.' "

Officers from the Elk Point and several neighbouring detachments were involved in the search and the Edmonton police sent their helicopter, as the RCMP chopper was in the shop for repairs.

Oakes said although the Frog Lake search was suspended, efforts to find the escapees would continue.

"We can't say for certain that those four individuals were or were not on the Frog Lake First Nation," said Oakes. "We just simply don't have enough information to say that they were there.

"Having said that, we want to continue to encourage people in that community, should something come to their attention, please don't engage yourself in any effort to try to apprehend. Rather, call the police immediately."

RCMP have warned that the missing prisoners should be considered dangerous and possibly armed.

Six inmates broke out of the Regina Correctional Centre on Aug. 24. One was quickly apprehended and a second, James Joseph Pewean, 25, was arrested last Friday in Regina.

Ryan John Agecoutay, 25; Preston Clarence Buffalocalf, 22; Cody Dillon Keenatch, 19; and Daniel Richard Wolfe, 32, are still at large.

Provincial authorities have been scrambling to explain how the six prisoners broke out of a secure unit, why it took so long to notify the public, and what actions were taken when senior jail officials were tipped about a possible escape.

Corrections Minister Darryl Hickie said the inmates busted through a brick wall in the jail.

Once outside, the prisoners breached a security fence. There was no hole in the fence, said Hickie, but he could not confirm reports that the inmates had tossed a blanket over the barrier. A weapons cache was later found in the unit.

Pewean is scheduled to stand trial Sept. 22 on charges of murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault.

He was charged after Regina police were called to a stabbing in the city's troubled north-central neighbourhood, where they found the body of Wilton James Lavallee, 19. Three other people were hurt in the incident.

Wolfe, who is from The Pas, Man., is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder after a violent home invasion in Fort Qu'Appelle, Sask., in 2007.

At the time, police said two perpetrators forced their way into a home and began shooting. Marvin Arnault, 51, and Michael Itittakoose, 24, were both killed in the attack. Three other people were seriously injured.

No date has been set for Wolfe's trial.

Buffalocalf and several others were charged with murder after Vincent Morrisseau-Poorman was shot at a home in Fort Qu'Appelle in February 2007.

He is scheduled to go to trial Nov. 3.

Agecoutay, who court records say also goes by the last name Bellegarde, is charged with aggravated assault. The charges were laid after a man was found seriously injured in north-central Regina in April 2007.

Police consider Keenatch unlawfully at large.