No known motive for Alberta double homicide

Two men were murdered near Siebert Lake, north of Edmonton over the weekend. Morris Cardinal, 57, and Jake Sansom, 39, were found dead from gunshot wounds near Sansom's truck early Saturday morning. The men were returning from a moose hunt.

The truck was discovered at 4 a.m. at an intersection at Township Road 622 and Range Road 84. The intersection is located close to the farm of Jason Smith, the son-in-law of Cardinal according to CBC.

Their weekend moose hunt was near Siebert Lake, 265 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.

Sansom and Cardinal took the moose to Smith's farm where they were joined by Sansom's brother Mike. There, they harvested the carcass inside a shop for the duration of the day and into the evening.

According to Mike Sansom, he left Smith's farm around 8 p.m. but his brother and Cardinal stayed later into the evening. Their plan was to drive the back roads east, returning home to Bonnyville.

A short distance down the road into their departure Sansom and Cardinal stopped at a T-intersection, and waited to make a right turn, this is where police believe that the two men were probably ambushed.

"That is one of many investigational avenues that we are currently looking at," RCMP Cpl. Ron Bumbry, wrote in an email. "At this time, the investigation is in its preliminary stages and we don't know for certain."

The news has wreaked havoc on the victim's families.

"I just don't get why somebody could murder two people for no reason like that," said Mike Sansom. "They didn't rob them. The cops said nothing was missing. They pulled up just to kill them, just because. I just don't understand that." According to his brother, the man had no enemies.

"I mean if anybody broke down, he'd always stop and make sure he'd help fix their vehicle and get it going again," said Mike Sansom. "Anybody who needed help, they'd help them. Even my Uncle Morris. They'd give you the shirt off their back if they could. If they thought that you needed it."

Jake Sansom was married and had three children. He had just been laid off from his job as a heavy-duty mechanic at Suncor due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sansom was also a very active member of the Bonnyville community, volunteering as s firefighter. He taught jiu-jitsu to children in Bonnyville and also gave talks as a motivational speaker.

"Jake Sansom was a gentle person, who had a big heart and always wanted to help anyone he could. Firefighter Sansom was always willing to be involved in the department, community, fundraisers, and continually showed his love for his family and fellow firefighters," wrote Nobleford and District Emergency Services in a Facebook post.

Morris Cardinal, 57, was just as devoted to his family said Mike Sansom, a grandfather of five with three stepchildren. He would often help out with babysitting.

"I just don't get it," said Blair Inscho, a long-time friend of both men. "They weren't thieves, they weren't drug addicts. They're not anything like that."

On Tuesday, RCMP performed autopsies on both men however those results have yet to made public. The nature of the gunshot injuries and how many gunshots were fired will remain undisclosed to protect the integrity of the investigation according to police.

RCMP are looking for anyone with any surveillance of the area — including range roads 84 and 90, and additionally township roads 614 and 620 — between 8 p.m. Friday and 4 a.m. Saturday. Footage includes any trail cameras, dash cameras or video surveillance.

Mike Samson said he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary on the day they were murdered.

"When we came back from the lake to go to Jason's, there was nobody around," he said. "We didn't see anybody at Siebert Lake. We didn't see anybody on the road back. There was nobody coming or going."