Two teen suspects in the Canada highway triple slayings may have fled the search zone with the help of an unsuspecting stranger. Photo / Supplied
Two teen suspects in the Canada highway triple slayings may have fled the search zone with the help of an unsuspecting stranger as a major manhunt ramps up in the wilderness, according to authorities.
Lifelong friends Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, are accused of going on a murderous rampage which claimed the lives of Australian Lucas Fowler, 23 and his American girlfriend Chynna Deese, 24, who were gunned down on a lonely road in British Columbia last week. Canadian man Leonard Dyck, 64, was also murdered a few hundred kilometres away on the notorious stretch.
Since Tuesday, the village of Gillam near Hudson Bay in the country's north has been on the alert for the pair. The fugitives are believed to have wound up in the area, after an epic 3200km chase across three provinces that began in British Columbia, on the Pacific coast, where their three victims were discovered earlier this month.
SWAT teams, tactical assault vehicles, drones, helicopters and sniffer dogs have descended on the remote town and appeared to be closing in on the teens but there are now fears they may have already left the area. Police consider the Canadian teens to be armed and dangerous and have warned the population not to approach them if spotted.
Over the next 72 hours, investigators will conduct door-to-door canvases in the Town of Gillam & Fox Lake Cree Nation, in hopes of generating new tips & information. #rcmpmb
— RCMP Manitoba (@rcmpmb) July 26, 2019
In a statement today, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said McLeod and Schmegelsky "may have changed their appearance and inadvertently been given assistance to leave the area by someone that was not aware of who they were".
"If anyone out there is hesitant to come forward — it is crucial for you call police immediately," the statement continued.
"To restate, there have been no confirmed sightings outside of the Gillam area, however we remain open to the possibility."
RCMP spokeswoman Julie Courchaine said "investigators will conduct door-to-door canvases in the town of Gillam in hopes of generating new tips" over the next 72 hours.
Speaking to news.com.au, Chynna Deese's brother British Deese said the ordeal was taking a huge toll on his family.
It is critical that all Canadians remain on the lookout for Kam McLeod & Bryer Schmegelsky. If seen, do not approach, call 911 or local police immediately. #rcmpmb https://t.co/vBjHaJbT26
— RCMP Manitoba (@rcmpmb) July 26, 2019
Deese said his family was "worn out" trying to come to terms with the tragic loss of his sister.
"We didn't expect that this would get to much international attention but it's oddly comforting to have the world mourning with you," Deese said.
The hunt for the killers moved to Gillam after police confirmed another two sightings of the suspects in the area.
The development came as a shock to many Gillam locals, who are so used to living in a safe community that many don't even lock their doors.
One local woman said the community was "freaking out".
"We're not used to this — nobody locks their door," she told CBC.
Another local, Mario Catalano who managed a fuel service company in town, told the media that some people had even resorted to sleeping with their guns.
"Everybody in the community is, I guess I wouldn't say paranoid … [but] nervous, scared," he said.
"I've heard people are sleeping with their guns close."
Local stores, bars and restaurants have reportedly been closing early so no one has to walk home in the dark.
A former classmate of one of the teenagers revealed Schmegelsky allegedly has history of making disturbing and violent comments.
Madison Hempsted, who shared a class with Schmegelsky when they were both 13, revealed to Global News that he had a habit of making some very disturbing comments.
The teen claimed she and her friends didn't speak with Schmegelsky very often but when they did he would allegedly turn the conversation towards different methods of murder.
"I don't want to be rude, but he was kind of a weird kid," she said.
"He didn't really talk to anyone, super into himself. But when he did talk to people, the things he said were kind of scary. All he ever said to me was how he wanted to kill me and ways he would do it."
Hempsted said she and others that knew Schmegelsky made comments about his alleged remarks on Facebook but they were all deleted.
One of her friends has claimed they had heard the accused say he wanted to kill his whole family.
Hempsted said some of the scenarios he would allegedly bring up were "pretty detailed".
"He would say things about how he would cut our heads off and then he would take a gun and put it in his mouth and shoot himself in front of us," she said.
She told the media outlet that, while his comments were disturbing, she didn't really think much of it until now.
"He didn't have very many friends," she said.
"We thought he was trying to be funny and make people laugh and make friends, because he was so quiet."
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they had received 80 tips from the public the past two days and believe McLeod and Schmegelsky remain near Gillam.
It's also been revealed that one of two suspected teen killers bought a black "funeral suit" before allegedly going on the murderous spree, according to his father.
McLeod and Schmegelsky have been charged with one count of second degree murder in relation to the death of Canadian man Leonard Dyck, 64, who was also killed on the roadside a few hundred kilometres away from where Fowler and Deese were found.
No other charges have yet been laid, but police have confirmed the longtime friends are the prime suspects in the triple slayings.
The victims' slain bodies were discovered on the side of a highway in northern British Columbia earlier this month, but the suspects have now been tracked three provinces and hundreds of kilometres away to the northern Manitoba town of Gillam, police said.
Heavily armoured SWAT team trucks have descended on the remote town, where McLeod and Schmegelsky dumped and torched their latest getaway vehicle.
"We can now confirm that there have been two established and corroborated sightings of the suspects in the Gillam area," RCMP said in a statement.
"These sightings were prior to the discovery of the burnt-out vehicle."
The teens have been missing since their Dodge pick-up truck was found abandoned and on fire on the Alaska Highway in northern British Columbia on July 19.
Fowler, from Sydney, and Deese, from Charlotte in North Carolina, had been travelling through northern British Columbia en route to Alaska when they were found shot to death alongside their blue Chevrolet mini-van on July 15.
On July 19, Dyck, a University of British Columbia lecturer, was found dead near Lake Dease, two kilometres from the teens' burnt-out Dodge and almost 500km from where Fowler and Deese's bodies were discovered.
Investigators have linked the teens to all three shooting murders and have warned the public to "consider them armed and dangerous". As authorities continue the frantic search for the suspected killers, details have continued to emerge about the lead-up to the horrific ordeal.
Alan Schmegelsky, the father of Bryer Schmegelsky, said his son bought a black suit with his second pay cheque from the Walmart where he worked this year and told him he was heading to Alberta with McLeod to look for jobs.
"I was absolutely flabbergasted to learn two days later … that they were up in the Yukon," he told reporters.
"Now I realise it's his funeral suit."
The distraught father said his son was on a "suicide mission" and expected he would be killed by police within 48 hours.
"He wants his hurt to end," Schmegelsky told Canadian Press.
"They're going to go out in a blaze of glory.
"Trust me on this."
On Monday, Schmegelsky revealed Bryer had told him he and McLeod had been "training in war" in the woods for more than two years and were masters of camouflage.
He described his son's upbringing as being troubled, with his parents going through a bitter separation in 2005.
The boy, then aged five, moved with his mother to the small Vancouver Island community of Port Alberni, where he met McLeod. They attended the same elementary school and quickly became inseparable best friends.
A visual to understand how remote Gillam, Manitoba really is. Just landed. Did see a number of RCMP officers who also just landed. #BCmurders #Manitoba @GlobalNational @globalnews @globalwinnipeg @cjob pic.twitter.com/oi2BnogZ77
— Crystal Goomansingh (@cgoomansingh) July 24, 2019
They were "everyday, good kids" who didn't get into trouble, but his son had problems at home and, at 16, briefly moved to Victoria to live with him, Mr Schmegelsky said.
Video games and YouTube became his main influences, and eventually he returned to Port Alberni to live with his grandmother before graduating from high school earlier this year, his father said.
"I'm so sorry all this had to happen. I'm so sorry that I couldn't rescue you," Mr Schmegelsky said through tears.
"Rest in peace, Bryer. I love you."
McLeod's father, Keith McLeod, released a statement talking up the compassionate nature of his son despite communities across Canada terrified of crossing paths with him.
"This is what I do know — Kam is a kind, considerate, caring young man," Mr McLeod wrote.
Branden McHale, a friend of McLeod's, described him as a big gaming nerd and a happy person, CBC reports.
He said McLeod was mostly into fantasy video games including League of Legends.
"He didn't have a lot of friends, but he was really funny," Mr McHale said.
"Bryer was really quiet with people. He was really loud-spoken in his friend group but pretty quiet in general."
The teens, who are both from Port Alberni, have been spotted since their alleged slayings but were still on the run on Thursday. A burnt-out car that police believe belonged to them was found in Gillam, Manitoba, leading investigators to believe they're in the area.
Gillam, with a population of just 1265, is so isolated the town's mayor Dwayne Forman described it as "the end of the road".
"Manitoba RCMP has sent a number of resources to the Gillam area" near Hudson Bay, the federal police wrote on Twitter.
But even as the reinforcements were being called in, there was an unconfirmed sighting of McLeod and Schmegelsky at Split Lake, some 85km north of the current search area.
Petrol station worker Michelle Keeper told CBC News she believes she served the pair on Monday at about 4pm. It was not clear what vehicle they were travelling in at the time or whether the encounter happened before or after SUV was found dumped at Gillam.
Ms Keeper said McLeod paid for $20 worth of fuel and Schmegelsky asked if they could consume alcohol in the First Nations community, which is dry.
"The guy who paid for the gas — he was quiet, he didn't say anything, he was just looking down," she told CBC.
"They seemed like, I don't know, normal. I'm just so nervous right now thinking about it."
Ms Keeper said she didn't realised she had served the fugitives until she saw the RCMP's updated suspect photographs the following day.
She said McLeod was still sporting a short beard and Schmegelsky was wearing the same camouflaged shirt seen in the police alert.
Prior to that, the suspects were last seen in the north of neighbouring Saskatchewan province driving a grey Toyota RAV4 on July 21.
Authorities have warned the public against interacting with McLeod and Schmegelsky.
"If you spot them — take no actions — do not approach — call 911 or your local police immediately," the RCMP said.
RCMP SWAT vehicles in Thompson ready to head to Gillam to search for the 2 suspects on the run. Stay safe and please report anything to your local RCMP #manitobamanhunt #canadamanhunt @CBCNews @CTVNews @rcmpmb pic.twitter.com/WRvRcfz5hS
— PaulaDuarteSheppard🇨🇦🇵🇹 (@PaulaDS1973) July 25, 2019
The Gillam area is "all swamp, heavy trees" and occasionally visited by polar bears, Mr Forman told public broadcaster CBC.
"There's only one road in and one road out," Mr Forman said.
A RAV4 was found in flames near the town earlier this week, Canadian media reported on Wednesday.
Curtis and Sandra Broughton, who are believed to be among the last people to have seen Mr Fowler and Ms Deese alive, have told police of assisting the couple after their van broke down on the side of the road on July 14. Their slain bodies were discovered on the side of a highway the next day.
Mr Fowler, the son of a chief inspector with the New South Wales Police department, was living in British Columbia, and Ms Deese was visiting him.
STATEMENT FROM FOWLER FAMILY: We have lost our dear Lucas Fowler, son, brother, grandson and friend in the most...
Posted by NSW Police Force on Friday, 19 July 2019
The couple had met at a hostel in Croatia, and their romance blossomed as they adventured across the US, Mexico, Peru and elsewhere, said British Deese, the woman's elder brother.
RCMP have brought out a drone and police dogs to assist in the hunt for B.C. homicide suspects Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky. #cbcmb pic.twitter.com/fq8Jm41wya
— Austin Grabish (@AustinGrabish) July 25, 2019
Mr Deese said the couple were on a trip to visit Canadian national parks and said the family believed they must have had engine trouble in their van when they met with foul play.
Until Wednesday, Leonard Dyck, a sessional instructor at the University of British Columbia, had gone unidentified as the man whose body was found on 19 July, two kilometres from the burnt-out remains of the truck McLeod and Schmegelsky were travelling in.
Dyck's family said in a statement late Wednesday: "We are truly heart broken by the sudden and tragic loss of Len. He was a loving husband and father. His death has created unthinkable grief and we are struggling to understand what has happened."
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