Two missing Canadian teens now suspected in murder of tourists Lucas Fowler and Chynna Deese
- Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, had been reported missing in British Columbia but are now believed to be on the run
- They are wanted in connection with three murders, including the killings of an American woman and Australian man
Two young men thought missing are now suspects in the murders of an American woman and her Australian boyfriend as well as the death of another man in northern British Columbia, Canadian police said.
The Royal Mounted Police had said Monday they were searching for 19-year-old Kam McLeod and 18-year-old Bryer Schmegelsky, whose burning car had been discovered south of Dease Lake.
During that investigation, they found the body of an unidentified man roughly a 2km from the car.
It’s about 500km along remote highways from the spot where 24-year-old American Chynna Deese and 23-year-old Australian Lucas Fowler were found shot dead over a week ago.
RCMP Sergeant Janelle Shoihet said Tuesday that McLeod and Schmegelsky left British Columbia and have been travelling in northern Saskatchewan in a grey 2011 Toyota Rav 4.
Later Tuesday, police said McLeod and Schmegelsky may be further east in Manitoba after a reported sighting in the remote northern town of Gillam.
“The RCMP are now considering Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky suspects in the Dease Lake suspicious death and the double homicide of Lucas Fowler and Chynna Deese,” Shoihet said
Shoihet said they are considered dangerous and urged the public not to approach them and to call 911.
Police released surveillance photos of the two in Saskatchewan.
The separate discoveries of three bodies and a burning car with missing occupants shook rural northern British Columbia. Murders are rare in the remote region.
The burned vehicle belonged to McLeod and Schmegelsky, both of Port Alberni, British Columbia.
Police had said Monday the two were travelling to Whitehorse in the Yukon to look for work and had not been in contact with their families for the past few days.
Police said Tuesday they were still working to identify the male body that was found nearby their burned-out vehicle, but said he appeared to be in his 50s or 60s.
They released a sketch of the man, with a heavy build with a grey beard and grey hair, and asked for public help in identifying him.
Fowler and Deese were found shot dead along the Alaska Highway near Liard Hot Springs.
Fowler, the son of a chief inspector with the New South Wales Police Department, was living in British Columbia and Deese was visiting him.
The couple had met at a hostel in Croatia and their romance blossomed as they adventured across the US, Mexico, Peru and elsewhere, the woman’s older brother said.
British Deese said the couple was on a trip to visit Canadian national parks when they were killed. He said the family believes they must have had engine trouble in their van.
