Redford sighting, alleged Twitter messages spark hope former premier will emerge from hiding

Mystery woman in iconic photo identified at last: It’s Alison Redford. But who is the guy with the guitar?

A possible sighting of Calgary-Elbow MLA Alison Redford and several messages sent from a Twitter account some observers believe Ms. Redford owns have raised the prospect the former premier will soon emerge from hiding.

Redford disappeared about two weeks ago and had not been seen or heard from until yesterday, when claims surfaced she had been spotted in Calgary on her way to “a private audience” in the southern Alberta city.

A spokesperson for the Calgary Police Service said in a statement investigators are trying to confirm the sighting. “We are being pestered by a group calling itself the Alison Sightings Society (ASS), and we encourage everyone just to calm down until our investigators have an opportunity to check this out,” the spokesperson said.

“We don’t want anyone to be disappointed if this turns out just to be imaginary or someone else who looks a little like Ms. Redford,” he added. “If this is true, it will be the first audience she has given since she was the Leader.”

Also yesterday, a message from a Twitter account believed by social media experts to belong to Ms. Redford expressed happiness at the replacement of American Late Night TV host David Letterman by funnyman Stephen Colbert. “I’m looking forward to watching,” the message said in part.

At the time, social media experts were skeptical the communication had actually been sent by Ms. Redford, who is known to have a giant intellect. “She’s a very brainy person who thinks big thoughts about the law, politics and the future of humankind,” said one expert. “This sounded more like something Tweeted by a teenager.”

Since then, however, several messages equally inconsequential but more serious in tone have led several experts to the conclusion Ms. Redford is actually sending the short statements herself for reasons that have not yet been fully explained. “It’s a mystery, and it may be some kind of code,” said one.

A radical fringe group of the ASS movement apparently agrees. “We’re not sure what she’s trying to tell us, but we hope it means she’ll soon be back among us,” said an unidentified member of the Alison’s Still Premier (ASP) Faction.

“Nothing’s changed in the government’s policies,” the ASP Faction member stated. “So what makes anyone think Alison isn’t still the premier?”