Fort Smith (July 26/04) - The former secretary-treasurer of the Fort Smith District Education Authority has been charged with theft over $5,000 and fraud over $5,000

Tracey Steed, 36, who now lives in Red Deer, is scheduled to appear in territorial court in Fort Smith Sept. 9.

Fort Smith RCMP Sgt. Craig Seafoot declined to say how much money was missing. "I can't give you a precise amount, but it's a fairly large sum."

The stolen money was previously described by police as being in the "tens of thousands" of dollars. It was discovered missing in October 2001 by Steed's replacement as secretary-treasurer.

An RCMP investigation began in November 2001.

Seafoot says the investigation took so long because an audit was necessary and witnesses had to be tracked down.

"A lot of work went into the file by everyone involved," he said.