Wetaskiwin McDonald's robbers busted after losing stolen car key fob: RCMP

FILE - A sign is displayed outside a McDonald's restaurant, Tuesday, April 27, 2021, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Mounties south of Edmonton are having a laugh at a pair of fast-food robbers who they say lost the key fob to their stolen getaway car.

"All I want for Christmas is my stolen car to start… Robbers foiled in get away," was the headline on the RCMP's Tuesday news release.

It all started on Saturday, just before midnight, when police received a call that two people were robbing the McDonald's restaurant in Wetaskiwin.

"CCTV video shows the two suspects with knives in their hands while they demanded staff get on their hands and knees during the robbery," Const. Cory Shultz wrote.

The suspects ran but were tracked by officers and a police dog.

One robber, police said, was arrested within fifteen minutes and the other was located about 30 minutes later in a stolen vehicle about a block away from the McDonald's.

Mounties said the suspects were still wearing the same clothes and the knives were found in the car.

Nobody was injured during the robbery or the chase.

"The teamwork between our general duty officers and police dog services had two suspects in custody less than an hour after the crime," Shultz wrote.

"However, we have to acknowledge we were further aided by the suspects’ bad luck – they lost the car’s key fob in the snow while running away from the scene and they could not start their stolen getaway car."

Two men from Edmonton, aged 20 and 22, each face multiple charges including robbery with a weapon.

The 20-year-old has been remanded into custody and was due to appear in a Wetaskiwin court on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old was given bail and is back in court on Jan. 11.