HUNT FOR SUSPECTS SHIFTS TO MANITOBA

‘They’re going to go out in a blaze of glory’

Communities in northern Manitoba were on edge Wednesday as the hunt continued for two Port Alberni suspects in the double homicide of a young couple and suspicious death of a man in northern B.C.

Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, and Kam McLeod, 19, are believed to be on the run from authorities, and were last spotted in northern Manitoba. Police confirmed Wednesday that the vehicle they were driving was found burned in the area.

They are suspects in the double homicide of Chynna Noelle Deese, 24, and Lucas Robertson Fowler, 23. The couple was shot to death last Monday while they were on a road trip.

On Wednesday, Keith McLeod, the father of Kam McLeod, issued a statement saying his son was a kind and caring person.

“I’m sitting at home worrying about my son. Relentless media hounding us for information that we don’t have. This is what I do know Kam is a kind, considerate, caring young man always has been concerned about other people’s feelings,” said McLeod.

“As we are trapped in our homes due to media people, we try to wrap our heads around what is happening and hope that Kam will come home to us safely so we can all get to the bottom of this story.”

Alan Schmegelsky says his son, 18-year-old Bryer Schmegelsky, had a troubled upbringing. He struggled through his parents’ acrimonious split in 2005 and his main influences became video games and YouTube.

“A normal child doesn’t travel across the country killing people. A child in some very serious pain does,” Schmegelsky said Wednesday in Mill Bay, B.C., near his home in Victoria.

Alan Schmegelsky said he expects his son will die in a confrontation with police.

“He’s on a suicide mission. He wants his pain to end,” he said, breaking down into tears. “Basically, he’s going to be dead today or tomorrow. I know that. Rest in peace, Bryer. I love you. I’m so sorry all this had to happen.”

Even if his son is caught, his life will be over, the father said.

“They’re going to go out in a blaze of glory. Trust me on this.”

At a press conference Wednesday, Manitoba Mounties said Schmegelsky and McLeod were spotted in the area of Gillam, a town of 1,200 people in northern Manitoba. Police said a burned-out car found near the Fox Lake Cree Nation reserve of Bird was the stolen Toyota RAV4 SUV they’d been driving.

The Manitoba RCMP said they’re continuing to share information with Mounties in B.C. regarding the search for the suspects.

“We have received numerous tips and information... and are continuing to ask for the public’s assistance,” said Cpl. Julie Courchaine.

The deputy mayor of Gillam John McDonald said extra police officers have been brought in for a search focused about 70 kilometres northwest of the town.

Gillam is about 1,000 kilometres north of Winnipeg and is a stop on the railway line that eventually leads to Churchill, Man. There is

BASICALLY, HE’S GOING TO BE DEAD TODAY OR TOMORROW.

only one major road in and out of the area.

McDonald said if McLeod and Schmegelsky are there, they are in country known for its thick bush, swamps and pesky insects, and where it’s easy to get lost.

“If they are wandering around in the bush, they couldn’t have picked a worse time because the sandflies came out three days ago and they’re just voracious,” he said.

The bodies of Fowler and Deese, who had been on a road trip together in Fowler’s blue van, were found on a remote stretch of highway near the Liard Hot Springs on July 15. Police have said they were both shot to death.

McLeod and Schmegelsky’s truck and the unidentified man’s body were found four days later near Dease Lake, B.C., more than 470 kilometres away from the first crime scene.

The pair, who’d been working at Walmart together in Port Alberni, B.C. before setting out to Whitehorse to look for work, were originally considered missing by police. They were labelled suspects Tuesday.

McLeod and Schmegelsky are both 6-foot-4 and weigh 169 pounds. McLeod has dark brown hair and facial hair and brown eyes, while Schmegelsky has sandy brown hair.

The North Carolina-based family of Deese has created a GoFundMe page hoping to raise US$10,000 to cover a funeral and memorial. It includes a moving tribute to a young couple.