A Saskatoon mother is accused of faking her own death, as well as her son’s, in an “elaborate and well thought out plan” that included handwritten checklists, according to court documents.
Dawn Walker, 48, and her seven-year-old son were located by US authorities in Oregon City, Oregon, on August 5.
According to US District Court filings, Walker allegedly stole a close friend’s identity to open a bank account as part of a “kidnapping scheme” to kidnap his son and enter the US illegally. She is being held in an Oregon detention center.
In a memo requesting that Walker remain in custody pending trial, US Attorney Natalie Wight said she believes Walker represents a “flight risk.”
“As part of an elaborate and well thought out plan, the defendant, a Canadian citizen, kidnapped her son and, after faking her and her son’s deaths, fled to the United States,” Wight said.
“The defendant has every incentive to try to flee to avoid the consequences of her crime. She should be stopped.”
CHARGES
She is charged with felony aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory two-year sentence if convicted.
Walker also faces a misdemeanor charge of identity theft, which could carry a sentence of up to six months.
In addition to the US charges, the Saskatoon Police Service charged Walker with kidnapping in violation of a custody order and public harm. On Monday, Deputy Chief Randy Huisman said there could be additional charges.
Walker and her son were reported missing on July 24. His truck and his belongings were found the next morning at Chief Whitecap Park in Saskatoon.
An affidavit filed by a US investigator describes how a Saskatoon resident found a blanket, a bag and a broken fishing rod in the South Saskatchewan River on July 23.
In the days after the discovery, police and volunteers combed the park and the adjacent river for any sign of Walker or her son.
ALLEGED IDENTITY FRAUD
According to the affidavit filed by a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agent, Walker’s friend only learned about the alleged identity fraud after police contacted her to investigate Walker’s disappearance.
Investigators had marked two large checks made out to the friend from a business account that listed Walker as the sole cardholder.
The two checks, totaling $77,000, were written in early June and deposited into a bank account opened in the friend’s name on May 16, according to the affidavit that refers to Walker’s friend only as “Adult Victim.” .
The friend’s son is known as “Minor Victim”.
“The adult victim stated that she did not open this bank account, but that the (adult victim) had her (Indian Status Certificate from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and Saskatchewan driver’s license) stolen in April 2022,” DHS Special Agent Clinton Lindsly said in the affidavit.
A number of transactions began appearing in the bank account on July 25, including charges for food, gas, hotels, Netflix and Airbnb rentals.
The charges began near the Canadian border in Butte, Montana and ended in Oregon City, according to the affidavit.
“Canadian officials contacted Airbnb and learned that there was a current rental in the city of Oregon under the name Adult Victim,” Lindsly said.
According to the affidavit, DHS placed the Airbnb under surveillance and a record search showed that a person entered the U.S. under the name Adult Victim accompanied by a child under the name Minor Victim on the morning of July 23. .
A blue Chevrolet Equinox with a Saskatchewan license plate registered to the Adult Victim was in the driveway of the rental home, Lindsly said.
WALKER’S ARREST
In her statement, Lindsly says she saw Walker leave the Airbnb and get into the vehicle.
“While carrying police markings, I approached the car and ordered the driver of the vehicle to get out of the vehicle. I immediately identified the woman as Walker,” Lindsly said.
She said Walker told her her son was inside when she asked.
“Concerned for the safety and well-being of the girl and the fact that she appeared to be leaving her alone, investigators used the code provided by Airbnb to enter the Airbnb rental and located the girl in the living room,” Lindsly said.
Lindsly said Walker provided his real name when asked and found a state card, a Saskatchewan driver’s license and a debit card, all bearing the adult victim’s name.
The investigator said he later located genuine Saskatchewan birth certificates in the names of the Adult Victim and the Minor Victim. Lindsly said they were in their original mailing envelope addressed to the adult victim.
“I also told Walker that people assumed that she and her son had died in the river, to which she spontaneously responded ‘he doesn’t want to be with his father,'” Lindsly said.
The special agent also said he found a fraudulent notarized letter purportedly from the Minor Victim’s father authorizing the child to travel to the US for a wedding in South Dakota.
“Investigators have confirmed that Minor Victim’s father never provided such authorization,” Lindsly said.
“As such, I believe this document was created by Walker to promote his son’s entry into the United States using a false passport.”
CHECKLISTS
Lindsly said he found what appeared to be a list of tasks related to her disappearance.
“I found several pages that seemed consistent with a ‘checklist’ of staging the strange circumstances of her disappearance (ie making it look like she and her son fell into the river),” Lindsly wrote.
“This list included things like dye your hair, pack your car, buy toys, throw your phone in the water, dump your car off the bridge, possibly buy a ‘fishing rod’, ‘find the nearest border’, cover up your tattoo .”
Sample lists included in the affidavit also show steps such as “dye your hair” and “throw your phone in the water,” as well as an apparent reminder to bring toys and pack the vehicle.
CUSTODY DISPUTE
Lindsly’s affidavit says that Walker and her son’s biological father “have been involved in a longstanding custody dispute” and that she picked up the boy from his father on Friday, July 22, the last day police He said they saw her before she disappeared.
According to SPS, she was last seen at a business in the city’s Brighton neighborhood.
The following Monday, Saskatoon police were dispatched to Walker’s home.
Officers “found the door open, their animals uneaten and animal feces on the floor of the house,” Lindly said.
After the couple was found, the boy was turned over to the Oregon Department of Human Services, where he was expected to be reunited with his father, Lindsly said.
SPS confirmed that the boy had returned home with a legal guardian over the weekend.
–With files from Keenan Sorokan