Two missing teens turned suspects in a double homicide and suspicious death investigation in northern B.C. have been spotted in Manitoba, according to RCMP.
Manitoba RCMP say they have “reason to believe” that Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky were thought to have been seen in the Gillam area of the province.
Gillam is a town of about 1,200 people in northern Manitoba, 11 hours north of Winnipeg. The town is situated on Stephens Lake, not far from Hudson Bay.
Prior to this, the teens were spotted in northern Saskatchewan.
The teens are wanted in connection to the double homicide of Lucas Fowler and Chynna Deese near Liard Hot Springs, as well as the suspicious death of an unidentified man near Dease Lake.
Fowler and Deese were found dead on the Alaskan Highway, about 2o kilometres south of Liard Hot Springs in northern B.C. on the morning of July 15.
On July 19, a burned out truck and camper belong to McLeod and Schmegelsky were discovered 50 kilometres south of Dease Lake. A man’s unidentified body was found in a highway pullout two kilometres away.
.@BCRCMP asking both McLeod and Schmegelsky to contact police, or for anyone who has seen the two, to contact authorities. A dead man found near where the duo’s truck was found is neither of the two teens, but police are looking to ID him. @BlackPressMedia pic.twitter.com/NSdhERzf8d
— Kat Slepian (@katslepian) July 22, 2019
Although the couple’s bodies were found 500 kilometres away from the unidentified man’s, B.C. RCMP say the two cases are connected and say the teens are suspects in both.
Fowler and Deese’s deaths have been ruled homicides, while police are calling the unidentified man a “suspicious death.”
McLeod and Schmegelsky are said to be driving a stolen grey 2011 Toyota Rav 4.
These photos of Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, and the vehicle they were driving were taken in Saskatchewan. Police will not provide any more information.@BlackPressMedia pic.twitter.com/YSr72b19px
— Kat Slepian (@katslepian) July 23, 2019
Police say McLeod is about six-foot-four, about 169 lbs, with dark hair, facial hair and brown eyes.
Schmegelsky is described as six-foot-four, approximately 169 lbs with sandy hair.
Both McLeod and Schmegelsky were said to have graduated from VAST, an alternative school in Port Alberni, in the last two years, and social media comments point to the duo having worked at Walmart.
Walmart did not immediately return a request for comment.
VIDEO: Missing Alberni teens now suspects in three northern B.C. killings
Speaking at a press conference Monday, Stephen Fowler, Lucas’ dad, said their killings had torn the families apart.
“We are just distraught. This has really torn two families apart,” Stephen said.
“Our son Lucas was having the time of his life travelling the world.”
Stephen described Lucas as a “fun-loving guy with a heart of gold,” Deese as a “beautiful young lady” and the couple as a “great pair.”
Lucas met Deese while he was travelling the world, Stephen said, and the pair became “inseparable.”
“It’s a love story that’s ended tragically. It’s the worst ever love story,” Stephen said.
