Canadian police say two bodies those of fugitives

TORONTO — Canadian police said Wednesday they believe two fugitives wanted in the killings of a North Carolina woman and her Australian boyfriend as well as another man have been found dead in dense brush in northern Manitoba.

Authorities found two male bodies and are confident they are Kam Mcleod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, said Royal Canadian Mounted Police Assistant Commissioner Jane Maclatchy. She said an autopsy will confirm their identities and causes ofdeath.

Critical evidence found last week when police discovered items directly linked to the suspects on the shoreline of the Nelson River helped locate the bodies, Maclatchy said. Following that discovery, authorities were able to narrow the search.

Police sent in specialized teams and began searching high-probability areas. On Wednesday morning, police located two bodies about a half-mile from where the items were found and approximately 5 miles from where they left a burnt-out vehicle on July 22.

Mcleod and Schmegelsky were charged with second-degree murder in the death of Leonard Dyck, a University of British Columbia lecturer whose body was found July 19 along a British Columbia highway.

They also were wanted in the fatal shootings of Australian Lucas Fowler and Chynna Deese of Charlotte, North Carolina, whose bodies were found July 15 along the Alaska Highway, some 300 miles from where Dyck was killed.

A manhunt had spread across three provinces, and the two fugitives had not been seen since the burnt-out car was found on July 22.

The bodies were found near Gillam, Manitoba — more than 2,000 miles from northern British Columbia.

Police said they were investigating all possibilities, including the chance that the two might have drowned.