VANCOUVER—Oscar nominee Randy Quaid and his wife Evi have been released from a Canadian detention facility after she was declared a Canadian citizen.
In yet another odd twist on a story that’s been strange from the start, the Canada Border Services Agency confirmed Evi Quaid is a citizen of the country in which she and her husband were arrested last week.
“The Canada Border Services Agency can confirm that it has withdrawn a request for an admissibility hearing for Mrs. Quaid as she is a prima facie Canadian citizen,” the agency said in a statement.
“Mrs. Quaid has received an unconditional release and that she is no longer in detention.”
The Quaids were arrested in a tony Vancouver neighbourhood last week on outstanding U.S. warrants for felony vandalism.
The pair later appeared at an immigration hearing in which they requested refugee status based on their belief that they were being persecuted by “Hollywood star whackers,” as they put it, and that their lives were in danger.
During the hearing, Evi Quaid repeatedly said her father was a Canadian FBI agent, a claim she explained later by saying her father was a Canadian who moved to the United States and began working for the FBI.
In an interview with The Canadian Press, Catherine Sas, the Quaid’s new lawyer, said Evi Quaid is “one of us.”
“She’s a Canadian citizen. In the process of doing her eligibility hearing for her refugee claim some of the information that she gave us led us to believe that she is (possibly) a Canadian citizen.
“We contacted her father, he forwarded us documentation that she is a Canadian citizen. So they withdrew all their proceedings and she can live here, she can work here.”
As for Randy Quaid, the border services agency would only say that he is no longer in detention and his case will be proceeding through immigration channels.
In an interview after his release Wednesday, the actor told The Canadian Press that the couple were not fleeing justice in the United States but believed the warrants were issued in error.
He likened their travel to Canada as nothing more than “crossing the street.”
The couple had been scheduled to appear at a refugee board hearing in Vancouver on Thursday. They were told last week they could be released from detention if they posted a $10,000 bond each, but the pair remained in custody.
Refugee claimants can be detained if officials suspect they won’t appear for their hearings.
The Quaids have frequently missed court appearances in the past for a now-resolved U.S. case involving charges they defrauded an innkeeper.
The Quaids are due to appear in a Santa Barbara court next week on felony vandalism charges and their U.S. lawyer has said he expects them to show up.
After a court hearing in Santa Barbara on Tuesday, senior Deputy District Attorney Lee Carter made it clear that the U.S. warrants for the Quaids remain outstanding.
The couple’s U.S. lawyer, Robert Sanger, told the court he had been in contact with the Quaids and expected them to be present for the hearing which is set for Nov. 2.
Quaid and his wife were charged after more than $5,000 in damage was found in a guest house of a Montecito, Calif., home they had previously owned.
Last week, Evi Quaid, 47, begged a Canadian immigration adjudicator to allow the couple to stay in Canada saying she feared for her 60-year-old husband’s life after some of their friends, like actors David Carradine and Heath Ledger, had been “murdered” under mysterious circumstances.
Ledger died in January 2008 from an accidental overdose. Carradine was found dead, hanging from a rope, in a suite at a luxury Bangkok hotel. Neither actor’s death was ruled suspicious.
Meanwhile, one positive tidbit of news for the Quaids is that their dog, Doji, is doing well.
Wendy Stewart, a spokeswoman with the City of Vancouver, said the two-year-old Blue Heeler was delivered to the city’s animal shelter after its owners were apprehended.
“The dog is in very good shape and very good health,” said Stewart, adding that shelter staff had been contacted by a representative of the Quaids to make arrangements for the animal.
“There’s an indication that the dog will be picked up in the next day or so,” she said.
Randy Quaid is best-known for supporting roles in films such as “Independence Day” and “National Lampoon’s Vacation.”
He has said the couple came to Canada because he was being given an award by a film critics group. He added that they were considering moving to Vancouver, where he planned to jump-start his career.
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