Canadian killers
Police close in on the teen fugitives wanted for three deaths
THERE IS THAT OLD SAYING, attributed to Hollywood, that “the Mounties always get their man”. But for almost two weeks, two teenagers – suspects in the murder of an Australian man, his girlfriend and another man – managed to elude the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Then, on July 28, came unconfirmed reports Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, and Kam McLeod, 19, had been arrested in
the tiny town of York Landing, Manitoba, almost 3000 kilometres from where their alleged murderous rampage began. A video was circulated that allegedly showed police taking one of the suspects into custody. However, it turned out to be a furphy, with police maintaining the manhunt was ongoing. “A heavy police presence can be expected in [York Landing],” the RCMP tweeted. “We will continue to update you as information becomes available.”
Friends Schmegelsky and McLeod are wanted for the murders of Lucas Fowler, 23, and his American girlfriend Chynna Deese, 24, who were found dead by the side of a highway in British Columbia on July 15. Canadian man Leonard Dyck, 64, was also murdered a few hundred kilometres away on a different stretch of highway.
Everyone seems to be doing their bit to find the fugitives. Members of volunteer group Bear Clan Patrol say they spotted the pair scavenging for food near a dump. “So [the group] saw two guys near the dump and at first it didn’t strike them as odd because they thought it was associated with the work going on at this water treatment plant,” the group’s co-founder
James Favel told Global News. “When they noticed the truck that was associated with those activities wasn’t present, then they kind of went, ‘Uh oh, this kind of might be something else,’ and so they were careful to get a description of the gentlemen that they saw, their exact location and the direction of travel after that.” Favel told reporters the pair then fled into bushland when they were spotted. York Landing, home to fewer than 500 people, is about halfway between Lake Winnipeg and Hudson Bay.
At the time of press, about 1000 police were searching for the missing suspects using tracker dogs, drones, helicopters and even the Royal Canadian Air Force. The last confirmed sighting was 200 kilometres away from York Landing in the town of Gillam, Manitoba, where their second getaway car was found abandoned and ablaze near a rail line. Police scoured the town of 1200 people, knocking on doors and searching abandoned buildings. “Over 100 empty homes have been thoroughly searched in the town of Gillam,” RCMP Manitoba said in a statement. Police also searched an Indigenous area known as Fox Lake Cree Nation.
However, they could not rule out that the teens may have changed their appearance and were no longer in the region.
Schmegelsky and McLeod started their journey at Port Alberni on July 12. It was a place they had met as children. They had quit their jobs at Walmart and were bound for Whitehorse, a former gold rush town. At first, they were simply thought to be missing.
But soon a sinister picture of them began to emerge – that of alleged killers. It’s thought that on the night of July 14 or early on July 15, the teens confronted lovebirds Fowler and Deese, whose bullet-riddled bodies were found near their van. Police believe the teens then murdered university lecturer and father Dyck, whose body was found near the torched truck Schmegelsky and McLeod had been driving.
As the search continues, a picture has emerged of the suspects. A former classmate of Schmegelsky’s revealed he allegedly had a history of making disturbing and violent comments. Madison Hempsted told Global News: “I don’t want to be rude, but he was kind of a weird kid. 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.” Schmegelsky’s father Alan told Canadian media the childhood friends were likely to go out “in a blaze of glory”.