ROSEAU, Minn. — Law enforcement agencies in northwestern Minnesota are keeping an eye out for a Canadian army reservist who disappeared after reportedly becoming the focus of an investigation into ties between the Canadian military and right-wing extremists.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) tweeted after Patrik Mathews disappeared two weeks ago. Police found his truck Sept. 2 near a small town just inside the Canadian border, about 10 miles northwest of Roseau, Minnesota, just a few minutes’ walk from the U.S. border.
The Winnipeg Free Press reported in August that Mathews, trained as a combat engineer, was the subject of investigations by the Canadian Armed Forces into possible links to hate groups and violations of Canadian military code.
The RCMP Mounted Police also searched his home, but Mathews has not yet been charged with a crime.
MPR News reports that the investigations followed a story from an undercover reporter linking Mathews to a right-wing extremist group known as The Base, which the newspaper described as “a secretive network of highly radicalized neo-Nazis that is eagerly preparing for a race war. In group chats, members make anti-Semitic, racist, misogynistic and homophobic comments, and they idolize serial killers and mass murderers as ‘the saints.’”
The paper said that Mathews had been recruiting new members in Winnipeg and called the group among “the most violent, radical fringes of the far-right hate movement.” The paper also said Mathews had been trained in the use of explosives and was believed to have had multiple firearms.
The Free Press said it believed Mathews was responsible for “neo-Nazi propaganda posters that have been posted throughout the city” earlier this year.
Kittson County Sheriff Mark Wilwant told MPR Thursday that border officials have asked local authorities to be on the lookout for Mathews, but that he doesn’t have any other information about him. Wilwant said that although Mathews’ truck had been discovered close to the border, there was no concrete sign so far that he’d entered the U.S.
Still, the Roseau County Sheriff posted a Facebook warning to residents this week, telling them to be on the lookout for Mathews, with a warning: “DO NOT APPROACH” Mathews.
In an update to their earlier press release, the RCMP on Friday warned "the RCMP believe Mr. Mathews may be under a significant amount of pressure due to this ongoing investigation and the extensive media coverage it has garnered. Anyone who sees him is asked to call police immediately and to avoid engaging with him."
Mathews’ family reported him missing Aug. 26, and said they’d been searching for the 26-year-old Manitoban when his Ram pickup was located on Monday near the small town of Piney.
Reported with information from MPR News.
