Moncton manhunt stirs memories of Curtis Dagenais in Spiritwood

Doug Franson remembers the helicopters flying over his farmyard every hour.

Franson farms near Spiritwood, about an hour north of Saskatoon. He lived there in July, 2006 when RCMP swarmed the heavily-treed countryside searching for Curtis Dagenais.

RCMP were hunting for Dagenais after two constables were shot and killed.

There were roadblocks, helicopters, ground searches and Emergency Responseteams scouring the bush and properties in the rural area.

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"You were really wondering, you know, if he was going to be hiding in your property, where they were going to end up finding him, y'know," Franson said.

Well, they had cars all over, guys with rifles, they had helicopters flying.- Gerald Mandtler

The city of Moncton is in lockdown as police search the community for a man they believe shot and killed three officers last night.

The hunt for Dagenais focused on the bush surrounding the small town.

People living in the area were confronted with highway roadblocks and searches.

Gerald Mandtler remembers it well.

"Well, they had cars all over, guys with rifles, they had helicopters flying."

Ken Hill ran the local bowling alley. He remembers coming to work one day and finding that officers had commandeered the buildingto set up a command centre.

The Dagenaismanhunt ended when he surrendered 11 days after the shooting of constables Robin Cameron and Marc Bourdages. He also wounded Constable Michelle Knopp.

He was convicted of first degree murder.