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False Alarm: Thunder Bay Police No Longer Searching For Hoffman

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Canadian police say a false alarm went out Thursday night after officers thought they saw murder suspect Ty Hoffman in Thunder Bay.

Police thought they spotted the fugitive at around 6 p.m. They also found a car with Minnesota license plates on Riverside Drive.

So a search began, in the town that's about an hour drive from the Minnesota border.

Shortly before 8 p.m., the Thunder Bay Police Service announced that the area near Riverside Drive and Central Avenue was contained and a search for Hoffman was underway.

Police said they issued the safety precaution to residents because Hoffman is believed to be armed and dangerous.

An hour later, a police spokesperson said that the announcement was a false alarm. The man seen was not Hoffman, and the car with Minnesota license plates had no connection to him.

Hoffman is charged with fatally shooting Kelly Phillips, a Boston Scientific attorney, at an Arden Hills gas station earlier this month.

There is $25,000 reward for information on his whereabouts.

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