MANHUNT MAGNIFIED
Search for B.C. homicide suspects focused on York Landing, Man.
Police focusing their search for two B.C. homicide suspects in York Landing, Man., after a sighting was reported Sunday.
VANCOUVER, B.C. - Manitoba police are focusing their search for two B.C. homicide suspects on the remote community of York Landing after a sighting was reported Sunday.
Cpl. Julie Courchaine said a tip was received around 5 p.m. Sunday that Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky had been spotted in the northern Manitoba community, which has a population of about 500 people and is only accessible by plane or a two-hour ferry.
York Landing is about 90 kilometres from Gillam, Man. where a vehicle being driven by the pair was found burned last week.
As a result of the tip received Sunday, RCMP have deployed multiple resources to the community including an emergency response team, police dog services, containment team members, major crime services and air assets.
“Officers searched the York Landing area throughout the night and continue their efforts today,” said Courchaine, adding that the Royal Canadian Air Force was also assisting.
As of 10 a.m. Monday, no contact had been made with the two individuals spotted and there has not been official confirmation that the two individuals are Schmegelsky and McLeod.
“Our goal today remains to safely locate, apprehend and identify the individuals,” said Courchaine.
“We understand that this is a trying time for the community of York Landing and that there’s a lot of uncertainty. We want to remind residents that we have a lot of police resources in the area and that our priority is their safety.”
Schmegelsky and McLeod are charged with the second-degree murder in the death of University of B.C. professor Leonard Dyck and are also suspects in the fatal shootings of Australian Lucas Fowler and his American girlfriend Chynna Deese.
The travelling couple were found dead on July 15 on B.C.’s Alaska Highway 97, south of Liard Hot Springs. Their minivan was stranded nearby.
Just four days later, Dyck’s body was found on B.C.’s Highway 37 near Dease Lake and was located two kilometres up the road from a burned-out truck. The vehicle was believed to have been driven by Schmegelsky and McLeod at one point.
The pair have been in the Manitoba wilderness for about a week, after the Toyota RAV4 they had been driving was found burned near Gillam, Man. last Monday, following sightings in norther Saskatchewan.