Teens wanted over brutal murders of Australian man Lucas Fowler and his girlfriend Chynna Deese
As Canadian police trail two teens suspected in the murders of Lucas Fowler and Chynna Deese, a second burning car has been uncovered not far from where the wanted pair were last seen.
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Canadian police have mounted all-night patrols in an area of northern Canadian province of Manitoba as the manhunt intensifies for two teenage suspects wanted in connection with the murders of Sydney man Lucas Fowler, his girlfriend Chynna Deese, and another man who was found dead last weekend near the suspects’ burning truck.
The Royal Canadian Mounties will spend all night combing the area in their search for teenagers Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, who have been spotted in Gillam buying just $20 worth of fuel in service station in Gillam, Manitoba.
The sightings of the pair come as police discovered another burning vehicle not far from where the two suspects were last sighted.
B.C. Teens Kam McLeod And Bryer Schmegelsky Now Suspects In 3Â Homicides https://t.co/BDbR0JQnET pic.twitter.com/mJw3wIVQZE
— MissingPeople.Ca (@OntarioNorth) July 24, 2019
Fox Lake Creek First Nation Chief Walter Spence has told media he could not yet confirm whether the vehicle is connected to the wanted teens.
They were last spotted two days ago driving in a neighbouring province of Saskatchewan, in a grey 2011 Toyota RAV 4. It is believed that vehicle was stolen.
“We now have a more recent confirmed sighting in Gillam, Manitoba,” RCMP Sgt Janelle Shoihet said.
“Our investigators are sharing information with investigators in Manitoba but confirms our belief that they were continuing to travel and the renewed importance of not focusing on one particular area but instead our efforts to locate them.”
Police have posted warnings on social media to alert local communities and to beware and take precautions.
Sgt Shoihet has also warned that the pair may have now changed vehicles and their appearances.
NO LONGER MISSING, NOW SUSPECTS
Early in the investigation, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the pair’s burning car had been discovered south of Dease Lake.
During that investigation, they found the body of an unidentified man roughly 2km from the car.
#UPDATE: We've now accessed the site where that truck—driven by homicide suspects Bryer Schmegelsky and Kam McLeod—was found, burning, near #DeaseLake last week. The body of an unidentified man, suspected to have been killed by the pair, was found a short distance away. @GlobalBC pic.twitter.com/0Kc9RsFFAK
— Sarah MacDonald (@smacdonald__) July 24, 2019
It’s about 500km along remote highways from the spot where Australian man Fowler, 23, and his American girlfriend Deese, 24, were found shot dead over a week ago.
MORE: FIRST PHOTOS OF CHYNNA’S FAMILY
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“The RCMP are now considering Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky suspects in the Dease Lake suspicious death and the double homicide of Lucas Fowler and Chynna Deese,” Sgt Shoihet said.
She said the pair were considered “dangerous” and urged the public not to approach them and to call authorities.
“They are no longer missing and are considered suspects,” Sgt Shoihet said.
SUSPECT’S FATHER: ‘THEY’RE GOOD BOYS’
Bryer Schmegelsky’s father, Al, said the teens were childhood friends and described them as “good boys”.
“They’re good boys, they’re really good boys, they’ve been friends since elementary school,” Mr Schmegelsky said.
According to CBC, Mr Schmegelsky said the pair had recently graduated high school and after growing disappointed with their job at Walmart, decided to head north.
“They’re just kids on an adventure. They’re good boys,” Mr Schmegelsky said.
The separate discoveries of three bodies and a burning car with missing occupants has shaken rural northern British Columbia.
The burned vehicle belonged to McLeod and Schmegelsky, both of Port Alberni, British Columbia.
Police had said the two were travelling to Whitehorse in the Yukon to look for work and had not been in contact with their families for the past few days.
Police said they were still working to identify the male body that was found nearby their burnt-out vehicle, but said he appeared to be in his 50s or 60s. They released a sketch of the man, with a heavy build with a grey beard and grey hair, and asked for public help in identifying him.
Fowler and Deese were found shot dead along the Alaska Highway near Liard Hot Springs.
Fowler, the son of a chief inspector with the New South Wales Police Department, was living in British Columbia and Deese was visiting him.
The couple had met at a hostel in Croatia and their romance blossomed as they adventured across the US, Mexico, Peru and elsewhere, the woman’s older brother said.
British Deese said the couple was on a trip to visit Canadian national parks when they were killed. He said the family believes they must have had engine trouble in their van.
VICTIM ’S FAMILY: ‘WE ARE JUST DISTRAUGHT’
Lucas Fowler’s family travelled from Australia to Canada, with his father, veteran police officer Stephen Fowler, speaking of the family’s pain.
“We are just distraught,” Mr Fowler said at a press conference yesterday.
“I may be an experienced police officer, but today I’m standing here as the father of the murder victim,” Mr Fowler, a senior police inspector in New South Wales, continued.
“Our son, Lucas, was having the time of his life travelling the world.
“He met a beautiful young lady and they teamed up. They were a great pair and they fell in love,” he said.
“It’s the worst-ever love story. Because we now have two young people who had everything ahead of them, tragically murdered.”
Originally published as Teens wanted over brutal murders of Australian man Lucas Fowler and his girlfriend Chynna Deese
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