Security alert leads to dramatic pursuit of stolen pickup near Sundre

An alert from a video surveillance system to an out-of-townhomeowner's cellphone touched off a dramatic sequence of events near Sundre, Alta.,as relatives chased and repeatedly tried to block the truck thieves from escaping.

Police are now searching for two suspects, a man and a woman, along with a stolen pickup truck.

The homeowner, who is out of the country, called his father just after 10:30 a.m. Thursday to say a dark Lexus with two people inside was parked in front of his home in the Eagle Hill area just east of Sundre,about 115 kilometres northwest of Calgary.

When the father arrived, he saw someone driving his son's truck out of the garage.

He used his own vehicle to try to block the truck from leaving down thelong driveway.

The homeowner's brother arrived soon after and sawa man andwoman making offin the Lexus and the truck.

The thieves drove around the father's truck and fled, with him and his son in pursuit.

"The thieves encountered a third family member of the homeowner who had used her vehicle to block their exit," read anRCMP release.

"Thieves managed to drive through the ditch and around that vehicle and onto the main road heading north."

Pursuit down dead-end road

The family members gave chase and the vehicles headed down a dead-end road.

The family members used their vehicles to block the road and wait for the other two vehicles to return.

When that happened, the woman driving the Lexus tried to go around them and got stuck in the ditch. Police say she jumped out and got into the stolen truck.

The man in the stolen truck then pointed a sawed-off, small calibre rifle at the family members and demanded they get out of the way.

They refused and the man drove through the ditch, where he got stuck for a short time before fleeing in the pickup. One of the family members managed to take a photo of the suspect.

Suspects armed and dangerous

Police say the truck will have damage to the front driver side and front passenger side.

The man is described as white, in his mid to late 20s with a slim build, light brown hair and a moustache. He was wearing brown Carhartt clothing, sunglasses and a beige ball cap with a dark brim.

The woman is described as white and in her early 20s. She was wearing black winter clothing and sunglasses.

Police say the pair are considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached.

The stolen pickup truck is a black 2016 GMC SierraDuramaxDiesel with Alberta plateBWL-6101and VIN1GT42YE8XGF288853.

Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.