Albert Johnson ( – February 17, 1932), also known as the Mad Trapper of Rat River, was a fugitive whose actions stemming from a trapping dispute eventually sparked a huge manhunt in the Northwest Territories and Yukon in Northern Canada. The event became a media circus as Johnson eluded the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) team sent to take him into custody, which ended after a pursuit lasting more than a month and a shootout in which Johnson was fatally wounded on the Eagle River, Yukon. Albert Johnson is suspected to have been a pseudonym and his true identity remains unknown. Attack on police Albert Johnson arrived in Fort McPherson after coming down the Peel River on July 9, 1931. He was questioned by RCMP constable Edgar Millen, but provided little information. Millen thought he had a Scandinavian accent, generally kept himself clean-shaven, and seemed to have plenty of money for supplies. After venturing the waterways in an indigenous-built raft to the Mackenzie River delta, he built a small cabin on the banks of the Rat River. Johnson had not acquired a trapping license, which was considered odd for someone living in the bush. At that time many northern native traditional trapping areas were being invaded by outsiders fleeing the Great Depression and some complaints may have been intended to remove him. In December, indigenous trappers complained to the local RCMP detachment in Aklavik that 'Johnson' was tampering with their traps, tripping them and hanging them on the trees. A post incident investigation by the RCMP "found an entirely different story. Evidently, Johnson had roughly told them to take off and had even pointed a gun at them, when they came-a-visiting at Johnson's cabin". On December 26, Constable Alfred King and Special Constable Joe Bernard, each of whom had a considerable northern experience, trekked the to Johnson's cabin to ask him about the allegations. Seeing smoke coming from the chimney, they approached the hut to talk. Johnson refused to talk to them, however, seeming not even to notice them. King looked into the cabin window, at which point Johnson placed a sack across it. The two constables eventually decided to return to Aklavik and get a search warrant. King and Bernard returned five days later with two other men. Johnson again refused to talk and eventually King decided to enforce the warrant and force the door. As soon as he