‘Lock your doors’: manhunt for Canadian teen murder suspects Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky moves to remote town of York Landing
- Book by Schmegelsky’s father describes his mental health, harassment convictions involving ex-wife and relationship with fugitive son
- Duo are sought in the killings of three people in northern British Columbia
Canadian police have urged people in a remote northern town to stay inside and lock their doors as officers hunt for two teenagers sought in the killings of three people in northern British Columbia.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police tweeted on Monday that they are using “all possible RCMP resources” in the manhunt around York Landing in northern Manitoba province.
Nineteen-year-old Kam McLeod and 18-year-old Bryer Schmegelsky have been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Leonard Dyck, whose body was found last week in British Columbia.
They are also suspects in the fatal shootings of Australian Lucas Fowler and his American girlfriend, Chynna Deese, of Charlotte, North Carolina, whose bodies were found on July 15 along the Alaska Highway about 500km (300 miles) from Dyck’s killing.
The RCMP earlier urged people in York Landing “to stay inside & check all doors & windows to ensure they are closed & locked”. Police also asked people to avoid revealing the locations of officers on social media.
Police earlier had been searching further east in the town of Gillam, aided by tracking dogs and drones.
Meanwhile, the father of one of the suspects has sent a book to reporters describing his mental health, harassment convictions involving his ex-wife and his relationship with his fugitive son.
Alan Schmegelsky said the book titled Red Flagged is a novelisation of actual events and fictionalises some incidents.
He said he sent the book to reporters to highlight how a “broken system” has shaped him and his son.
“My son and I have been treated like footballs. It’s time for some truth,” he said.
He writes that he was arrested by Victoria police on August 4, 2008, his son Bryer’s eighth birthday, three years after his acrimonious split with the boy’s mother.
Court records show he was charged with criminal harassment in December 2008. He was found guilty of the lesser offence of disobeying a court order.
He returned to court numerous times over the next decade on charges of harassment and breach of probation.
Schmegelsky says he does not currently have a permanent residence and has been homeless for about two years, staying primarily in Victoria.
He has said that he did not see his son between the ages of 8 and 16, at which age his son briefly lived with him in Victoria and they worked in construction together for a summer. He showed The Canadian Press recent photos and videos of his son on his phone.
