Albert Johnson
Albert Johnson, known as the Mad Trapper of Rat River, was a fugitive whose violent confrontation with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in the winter of 1931-32 sparked one of the largest and most dramatic manhunts in Canadian history. His ability to evade capture across 240 kilometres of harsh Arctic terrain in the dead of winter, culminating in a fatal shootout, became a national news story and cemented his place in northern folklore. The manhunt involved RCMP officers, local Indigenous guides, and famed bush pilot Wilfrid "Wop" May, yet Johnson's true identity and motives have never been conclusively established. His story remains a subject of forensic investigation and creative interpretation, explored in documentaries, books, and films.
Arrival in the North and Initial Dispute
Albert Johnson first entered the historical record in the Canadian Arctic in July 1931. He arrived near Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories, after travelling down the Peel River. RCMP Constable Edgar Millen questioned him briefly, noting the man had a Scandinavian accent, appeared to be in his thirties, was clean shaven, and seemed to have ample money for supplies. Johnson then ventured to the Mackenzie River delta and constructed a small cabin measuring 2.5 by 3 metres on the banks of the Rat River. His failure to acquire a trapping licence was considered unusual for someone establishing a bush camp. In the context of the Great Depression, many outsiders were moving into traditional northern trapping areas, and complaints from local Indigenous trappers may have been intended to remove such newcomers. By late December, trappers had complained to the RCMP detachment in Aklavik that Johnson was tampering with their traps, specifically tripping them and hanging them in trees. An initial RCMP investigation later suggested the trappers may have received a rough reception at Johnson's cabin, including having a gun pointed at them.
The Shooting at the Cabin and the Failed Siege
On 26 December 1931, Constable Alfred King and Special Constable Joe Bernard, both men with considerable northern experience, trekked 100 kilometres to Johnson's cabin to investigate the trapping complaints. They observed smoke from the chimney but Johnson refused to acknowledge them, eventually placing a sack over the window. The constables retreated to Aklavik to obtain a search warrant. They returned five days later on 31 December, accompanied by Constable R.D. McDowell and Special Constable Lazarus Sittichinli. When Johnson again refused to communicate, King moved to force the door. Johnson shot him through the wooden door, striking him in the chest. A brief exchange of gunfire followed before the posse evacuated the wounded King by dogsled back to Aklavik, where he eventually recovered. In response, Inspector Alexander Eames led a larger posse of nine men, including local volunteers and guides, back to the cabin on 9 January 1932. A fifteen hour siege ensued in temperatures of minus forty degrees Celsius. The posse fired hundreds of rounds into the cabin and used dynamite, with a common account stating a charge was thrown onto the roof, collapsing it. Johnson, however, had fortified a dugout approximately 1.5 metres deep beneath the cabin and returned fire. After the prolonged standoff, the exhausted posse retreated to Aklavik, having failed to capture or kill him.
The Aerial and Ground Pursuit Across the Mountains
After the siege, Johnson abandoned his damaged cabin and fled into the wilderness. The story, relayed south via the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals station in Aklavik, became front page news across Canada. A reinforced posse returned on 14 January to find the cabin empty and began tracking him. They caught up with him on 30 January, surrounding him in a thicket. In the ensuing firefight, Johnson shot Constable Edgar Millen through the heart, killing him. The posse retreated once more. The search party continued to grow, enlisting local Inuvialuit and Gwichʼin trackers who were more adept at moving through the back country. Johnson apparently decided to flee to the Yukon, but the RCMP had blocked the only two passes over the Richardson Mountains. Undeterred, Johnson climbed a 2100 metre peak to cross the range, disappearing again. Following Millen's death, the RCMP requested aircraft support. Canadian Airways pilot Wilfrid "Wop" May, a First World War flying ace, flew north with mechanic Jack Bowen in a ski equipped Bellanca monoplane, arriving in Aklavik on 5 February. May's aerial reconnaissance spotted Johnson's tracks beyond the Richardson Mountains, proving he had crossed the formidable range.
Final Confrontation, Death and Post Mortem Discoveries
On 14 February 1932, Wop May located fresh tracks on the Bell River and followed them to where they turned south up the Eagle River. He identified a critical clue where footprints led from the centre of the frozen river to the bank. Johnson had been following caribou tracks in the middle of the river, a tactic that concealed his own footprints and allowed him to travel on compacted snow without snowshoes. He left the trail at night to camp on the bank, creating the tracks May spotted. May radioed the location to the RCMP ground team. On 17 February, the posse rounded a bend in the Eagle River and found Johnson standing a few hundred metres away. Johnson attempted to run for the bank but, without his snowshoes, could not move quickly. A final firefight erupted, during which Constable Alfred King was seriously wounded again. Johnson was killed by a bullet that entered the left side of his pelvis at an acute angle, passing through vital tissues and arteries. Wop May landed his plane, evacuated the injured King, and was credited with saving his life. An examination of Johnson's body yielded over two thousand dollars in American and Canadian currency, gold, a compass, a razor, knives, fish hooks, nails, a dead squirrel and bird, Beecham's Pills, and teeth with high quality gold fillings. His sophisticated dental work suggested he was not impoverished and had access to major urban centres.
Forensic Exhumation and Genetic Investigation
In August 2007, a forensic team assembled by Myth Merchant Films exhumed Johnson's grave in Aklavik for a modern scientific examination, detailed in the documentary The Hunt for the Mad Trapper and the book The Mad Trapper: Unearthing a Mystery. The analysis confirmed he was approximately 35 years old and had scoliosis, an asymmetrical tailbone that would have caused a curved spine and chronic back pain. Isotope analysis of his teeth indicated he may have spent his youth in Scandinavia or the American Midwest. His dental work was of exceptionally high quality for the period, suggesting he could afford state of the art procedures in a city like Chicago or New York. The remains showed he was struck multiple times in his final gun battle, including a shot that caused a spiral fracture of his femur, supporting anecdotal reports a bullet hit an ammunition pouch on his hip. After the examination, his remains were re interred with full rites conducted by a priest and Indigenous elders. While many people had offered anecdotal claims of relation, initial DNA analysis ruled out all proposed candidates. In 2021, Othram Inc. successfully developed a DNA sequence and traced his ancestry to Sweden, linking him to multiple descendants of Gustaf Magnusson and Britta Svensdotter. Many genetic matches traced their ancestry to the Swedish towns of Hånger, Kävsjö, and Kulltorp. As of 2021, further DNA samples and family history were being sought to continue the investigation.
Proposed Identities and Speculation
The RCMP distributed photographs across Canada and the United States in an unsuccessful effort to identify the man known as Albert Johnson. Several theories have been advanced over the decades. Early investigation focused on an obscure trapper named Arthur Nelson, also known as Mickey Nelson, who travelled the Yukon from 1927 to 1931 and owned firearms identical to Johnson's. Author Dick North's 1989 book Trackdown proposed that Albert Johnson, Arthur Nelson, and a North Dakota repeat criminal named John Johnson were the same person. John Johnson was born Johan Konrad Jonsen in Norway in 1898 and had served time in San Quentin and Folsom prisons. However, DNA tests involving John Johnson's great nephew Ole Getz later disproved this connection. Another theory comes from the Johnston family of Pictou, Nova Scotia, who believe Johnson was their relative Owen Albert Johnston, who left home during the Great Depression and was last heard from in Revelstoke, British Columbia, in early 1931. Author Mark Fremmerlid proposed Johnson was Sigvald Pedersen Haaskjold, a Norwegian who disappeared in 1927 after evading First World War conscription and was known to have built a fortress like cabin in British Columbia. Each theory presents circumstantial evidence, but none have been definitively proven.
Cultural Depictions and Lasting Legacy
The story of the Mad Trapper has generated a substantial body of work in Canadian culture. Folk songs about the event include "The Capture of Albert Johnson" by Wilf Carter and "The Mad Trapper of Rat River" by Stanley G. Triggs on his 1961 album. The 1972 film The Mad Trapper and the 1975 U.S. production Challenge to Be Free offered fictionalized accounts, the latter portraying Johnson as a peaceful man disturbed by inhumane trapping. The 1981 film Death Hunt starred Charles Bronson as Johnson and Lee Marvin as Constable Millen. Numerous books have been written, including Rudy Wiebe's The Mad Trapper (1980), Dick North's The Mad Trapper of Rat River (2003), and Barbara Smith's The Mad Trapper: Unearthing a Mystery (2009). Artifacts from the manhunt, including Johnson's distinctive snowshoes and firearms, are held in the collection of the RCMP Museum in Regina. His grave in Aklavik is noted as a destination for visitors interested in northern history. The event is frequently cited as an example of extreme survival and policing in the Arctic, ensuring its continued relevance in discussions of Canadian history and identity.
Questions about Albert Johnson
Who was Albert Johnson, the Mad Trapper?
Albert Johnson was the alias used by a fugitive who became known as the Mad Trapper of Rat River. This followed his shooting of an RCMP officer in December 1931, which triggered a massive manhunt. He eluded capture in extreme winter conditions across the Arctic, travelled over 240 kilometres, and killed another officer before being fatally shot. His true identity, background, and motives for the initial violence have never been conclusively determined.
What started the manhunt for Albert Johnson?
The manhunt began after local Indigenous trappers complained to the RCMP that Johnson was tampering with their trap lines on the Rat River. When Constable Alfred King and a colleague went to his cabin to investigate on 31 December 1931, Johnson refused to speak. He then shot King through the cabin door, seriously wounding him. This unprovoked attack on a police officer over a trapping dispute led the RCMP to assemble a posse to arrest him.
How was Albert Johnson finally caught?
Albert Johnson was finally located after famed bush pilot Wilfrid "Wop" May joined the search by air. On 14 February 1932, May spotted Johnson's tracks on the frozen Eagle River in the Yukon, noting he had been walking in caribou tracks to hide his footprints. May radioed the location to the RCMP posse on the ground. Three days later, on 17 February, the posse confronted Johnson on the river. In the ensuing gunfight, Johnson was fatally shot. Wop May also landed his plane to evacuate a wounded constable, saving his life.
What did forensic tests reveal about Albert Johnson?
A forensic examination in 2007, following an exhumation of his remains, revealed several key facts. Johnson was approximately 35 to 40 years old at death and had scoliosis, which would have caused chronic back pain. He had undergone sophisticated and expensive dental work for the era. Isotope analysis of his teeth suggested he may have spent his youth in the American Midwest or Scandinavia. In 2021, advanced DNA analysis traced his ancestry to Sweden, specifically linking him to families from the towns of Hånger, Kävsjö, and Kulltorp, though his exact name remains unknown.
Where is Albert Johnson buried?
Albert Johnson is buried in the cemetery in Aklavik, Northwest Territories. After his death in 1932, he was interred there. In 2007, his remains were exhumed for forensic testing and then re interred at the same site with full religious rites conducted by both a local priest and Indigenous elders, an honour not afforded at his original burial. The grave site has become a point of interest for visitors to the area, drawn by the enduring legend of the Mad Trapper.
How has the Mad Trapper story been portrayed in popular culture?
The story of the Mad Trapper has been widely portrayed in Canadian popular culture. It has inspired folk songs by artists like Wilf Carter and has been the subject of several books and films. Notable movies include the 1972 film The Mad Trapper and the 1981 Hollywood production Death Hunt starring Charles Bronson. A 2007 documentary, The Hunt for the Mad Trapper, covered the forensic exhumation of his body. Many of his personal effects, including his snowshoes, are on display at the RCMP Museum in Regina, Saskatchewan, preserving the physical history of the event.
Sources: Wikipedia and current public reporting, checked by the Novello Desserts desk. Last updated 2026-10-22.
