Matthew Robillard has now been charged with public mischief after police say he staged his own kidnapping.
Robillard, who is married and has a six-month-old child, left his home on January 31, under the guise of going to work.
A massive search was conducted as soon as he was reported missing to police.
As a result of the search, police found his car in an industrial area in Calgary with one of the windows smashed.
48 hours later, on February 2, Robillard was found in a hotel.
Police say he was found suffering several injuries.
An investigation into his disappearance by Lethbridge Police and the Calgary Police Service found that Robillard staged his own disappearance.
Police say Robillard went through with this in an attempt to cover for a financial loss and intended to make it look like he had been extorted.
“This was a ruse that spanned multiple jurisdictions and diverted valuable police resources away from real victims and actual crimes,” said Acting Insp. Ian Sanderson, Criminal Investigation Division. “It’s a concern to us that someone would take these steps and cause police to continue an investigation when no crime had occurred.”
Sanderson says the search cost the police in Lethbridge and Calgary tens of thousands of dollars.
Robillard was released from custody and is scheduled to appear in court for the public mischief charges on April 8.
