Alberta man accidentally helped fugitives
Two teen fugitives suspected in a killing spree in British Columbia looked like scared kids with “soft baby hands,” according to an Alberta man who helped free their SUV when it got stuck in the mud.
Tommy Ste-Croix, of Cold Lake in northeastern Alberta, said he realized only afterwards he had a potentially dangerous encounter when he unwittingly towed the SUV used by Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, out of the mud.
At the time, the pair was considered missing, not suspects or fugitives.
“Can’t see those kids killing anyone. Can’t even shake a hand properly, lol. Soft baby hands,” Ste-Croix said in Facebook posts to his friends about the incident, which was confirmed by the RCMP.
“My big heart could of got me killed,” he said.
A Toyota SUV was spotted stranded in mud behind Cold Lake hospital on Sunday. When told about it, he decided to head over to help the driver out.
He shook the two young men’s hands after pulling the Toyota RAV4 free and they even gave him their real names, he said.
Only later were they identified publicly as murder suspects and he realized how differently the encounter could have ended.
“One shot to the back and that would of been it,” he said.
He drove right up to their SUV without speaking to them first, Ste-Croix said.
“I did a U-turn and backed up to their SUV before even making any kind of interaction. So they knew I was there to help and not hunt them,” he said, theorizing on why they didn’t turn on him.
He spent a good 20 minutes with them, talking, pulling out their SUV with his truck and then saying goodbye.
He said McLeod, with a “shaggy beard” was driving.
Schmegelsky, a “tall skinny fella,” wore a white shirt and camouflage army pants.
They looked the same as in photos and video Ste-Croix later saw, which were taken by a security camera in a store in Meadow Lake, Sask., about 150 kilometres away.
By then, RCMP had announced they were suspects in three murders and warned the public not to approach them but to call 911 or local police immediately.
“Wish I’d of known,” Ste-Croix said. “Something wasn’t right with these guys.” He described them as “kids” who looked “scared.”
Looking back, he said their status as fugitives explains something about the odd way they were acting.
“It all makes sense now on why they were eyeing me down so f—ing hard.”
He said they could have shot him and taken his truck instead of shaking his hand.
“Their vehicle was down and out. I show up with a fairly new truck, wallet with all my credit cards,” he told his friends. “Someone was watching over me for sure. “Blows my mind,” he said. “So surreal.” At the urging of friends, he called police and gave the RCMP a video statement.
“It’s a wake up call. It is scary, hasn’t completely sunk in yet on how bad the situation could of gotten.”
McLeod and Schmegelsky continued their journey another 1,500 kilometres northeast.
The SUV that Ste-Croix had pulled out of the mud was found the next day burning in a ditch between Gillam, Man., and Fox Lake Cree Nation in northern Manitoba.
The pair apparently fled into the heavily forested, remote bush, likely on foot. A massive search has failed to find them.