Aussie-killer teen suspects ‘sighted at tip’

Canadian police have narrowed their search for two teenagers wanted for the murders of Lucas Fowler and his girlfriend.

Gillam Police search Keewatinohk Lodge for the Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky. Picture: Clint Brewer

Canadian police have swarmed the remote riverside town of York Landing to investigate the report­ed sighting of two teenagers ­suspected of killing Australian man Lucas Fowler, his girlfriend and another man.

A volunteer search crew told authorities it had spotted Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmeg­elsky, 18, scavenging food from the dump about 4.15pm local time before the pair fled into the ­surrounding dense forest.

Heavily armed officers with dogs continued to scour the town, bushland and nearby water­courses last night, while strong winds made it difficult to deploy search helicopters and drones.

York Landing, a community of about 500 people, is a 200km drive from the town of Gillam, where Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers spent the past few days checking every inhabited and abandoned dwelling after a burnt and stolen car was found nearby last week.

Police had been alerted to more than 200 tips about the pair’s whereabouts in the past five days but took yesterday’s sighting seriously, directing resources to move to York Landing.

“Multiple RCMP resources are being sent to York Landing (in Manitoba) to investigate a tip that the two suspects are possibly in, or near, the community. A heavy police presence can be ­expected in the area,” police said.

A later statement warned community members to stay ­inside and lock doors and windows as the manhunt continued.

“All efforts are being made in York Landing to apprehend two individuals matching the description of the suspects,” police said

“The safety of community members is our priority.”

How the teens travelled the rugged terrain between Gillam and York Landing is a mystery but police have not ruled out that the pair may have “inadvertently received assistance”.

The bodies of Mr Fowler, 23, from Sydney, and his American girlfriend, Chynna Deese, 24, were found in a ditch near their 1986 Chevrolet van on the side of the Alaska Highway near Laird Hot Springs on July 15.

The couple had been on a road trip through Canada before their van broke down on July 14.

Police suspect Schmegelsky and McLeod, who when first missing were thought to be potentia­l victims­, shot Mr Fowler and Ms Deese dead and later proceeded­ to kill University of British Columbia lecturer Leonar­d Dyck, 64. Mr Dyck’s body was found at a rest stop near Deese Lake, about 450km from Laird Hot springs, on July 19.

The teenagers’ pick-up truck was found, lit on fire, about 2km away from the Deese Lake ­murder site.

Schmegelsky and McLeod, who had told family they were heading on a road trip to find work, have been charged in their ­absence with Mr Dyck’s second-degree murder.

A motive for the killings has not been established but family members said the pair enjoyed simulated war games involving hunting and Schmegelsky was a fan of Nazi paraphernalia.