Manhunt for teen fugitives grips the nation
Over the course of nearly four tense weeks between July 15 and Aug. 7, Canadians’ attention was focused on northern communities in Saskatchewan and Manitoba during the search for two suspects in the violent deaths of three people in British Columbia.
Information trickled out to the public slowly, heightening the sense of unease.
On July 15, the bodies of Chynna Noelle Deese, 24, of Charlotte, N.C., and her boyfriend, Lucas Fowler, 23, of Australia, were found by the Alaska Highway south of Liard Hot Springs, B.C. Both had been fatally shot. Their van was parked nearby.
Four days later, police were called to a truck fire on Highway 37 south of Dease Lake, B.C. By this time, they were searching for two missing teens from Port Alberni, B.C. — Kam Mcleod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18. The burned truck belonged to Mcleod.
On a highway pullout two kilometres away, officers found the remains of a man. They did not release his name or cause of death.
Having previously said there was nothing to indicate a link between the deaths and the disappearances of Mcleod and Schmegelsky, on July 22, RCMP informed the public that a connection between the events was “possible” and urged people to be alert.
The following day, RCMP admitted Mcleod and Schmegelsky were suspects in the deaths of Deese, Fowler and the still unidentified man, later confirmed to be Leonard Dyck, 64, of Vancouver.
Saskatchewan RCMP said the pair was seen July 21 in Meadow Lake. Earlier in the day, RCMP in B.C. had said they were seen in northern Saskatchewan driving a grey 2011 Toyota RAV4. Their photos were released, and RCMP said they were “considered armed and extremely dangerous.”
Manitoba RCMP said they had reason to believe the fugitives were recently in the area of Gillam, Man.
On July 24, RCMP confirmed a stolen vehicle Mcleod and Schmegelsky had been driving — the RAV4, which belonged to Dyck — was found burned in northern Manitoba on July 22. They charged both young men with second-degree murder in Dyck’s death. Warrants were issued for their arrest.
Mcleod’s father issued a statement calling his son “a kind, considerate, caring young man.”
Schmegelsky’s father said he had a troubled upbringing and his main influences became video games and Youtube. He said he suspected his son was on a “suicide mission” and would die at the hands of police.
Days of fruitless searches through abandoned buildings and the swampy brush of northern
Manitoba ensued.
On July 26, RCMP released surveillance footage from July 21, when the pair visited a store in Meadow Lake. The military was called in to provide air support.
Two days later, RCMP shifted their focus to the York Factory First Nation after a civilian safety patroller reported seeing two men matching their description running from the community’s dump. The First Nation can only be accessed in summer by air and ferry, which are both heavily monitored. Police officers and the military poured in. Children were kept indoors.
On July 31, RCMP announced they were scaling back the search of northern Manitoba, having found no evidence of the fugitives. Speculation flourished online.
On Aug. 2, a search helicopter spotted a damaged boat on the shoreline of the Nelson River northeast of Gillam, leading RCMP divers to begin searching the water on Aug. 4. They found nothing.
On Aug. 7, specialized RCMP searchers found human remains about one kilometre from the damaged boat, and other items belonging to the fugitives about eight kilometres from the burned RAV4. Police confirmed the remains were those of the fugitives.
Five days later, more information trickled out: RCMP said Mcleod and Schmegelsky had shot themselves and there were “strong indications” they had been alive during the massive manhunt, but had been dead for several days before their bodies were found.
Not until Sept. 27 did RCMP release a summary of their investigative findings, allowing the public to learn previously withheld information:
Spent and unspent shell casings from a semi-automatic rifle were found at the scene where Deese and Fowler died. The fugitives bought the gun legally at a store in Nanaimo on July 12, the day they left home.
Dyck was fatally shot. A shell casing at the scene bore the same stamp as the shells found where Deese and Fowler died. Nearby were a damaged SIM card belonging to Mcleod, and his Walmart staff ID.
Searchers found Mcleod’s backpack, containing ammunition, his wallet and clothing, on Aug. 1.
When the fugitives’ bodies were found, two semi-automatic rifles were nearby. Police believe they were used in the murders. Mcleod shot Schmegelsky, then himself.
A digital camera found by their bodies contained six video clips; in the longest, the fugitives admitted their roles in the murders, but said nothing about what motivated them. They said they planned to walk to Hudson Bay, hijack a boat and go to Europe or Africa. In subsequent videos, they realized they’d hit a dead end. In the final video, “They state this is their last will and testament and express their wish to be cremated,” RCMP said.
“They were cold, they were remorseless,” RCMP Assistant Commissioner Kevin Hackett said.