Baby-faced suspects in Canadian murders ‘trained in war and camouflage in the woods’

Two friends wanted for the murders of Aussie Lucas Fowler and his girlfriend are self-taught survivalists who trained in the woods.

Two lifelong friends wanted over the grisly murders of three people, including an Australian and his American girlfriend, on a lonely Canadian highway had trained intensively in “war and camouflage”, the father of one of the suspects says.

Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, have been missing since their Dodge pick-up truck was found abandoned and on fire on the Alaska Highway in northern British Columbia on July 19.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) today confirmed McLeod and Schmegelsky are prime suspects in the murders of Sydney man Lucas Fowler, 23, and his girlfriend Chynna Deese, 24, last week.

Alan Schmegelsky, father of Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, who is wanted in connection the murder of Aussie Lucas Fowler, his girlfriend Chynna Deese and another unidentified man. Picture: CHEK News

Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18 as they appear on a wanted poster released by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Picture: RCMP

The remote highway where Lucas Fowler Chynna Deese broke down according to Curtis and Sandra Broughton, who last saw them alive on Sunday afternoon. Picture: Supplied

The couple had been travelling through northern British Columbia on a dream road trip when they were found shot to death alongside their blue Chevrolet mini-van on July 15.

Curtis and Sandra Broughton, who are believed to be among the last people to have seen Mr Fowler and Ms Deese alive, have told police of assisting the pair after their van broke down on the side of the road on July 14.

On July 19, a third person, an unidentified male aged between 50 to 60, was found dead two kilometres from the teens’ burnt out Dodge.

Police have since named the man as Leonard Dyck of Vancouver.

Investigators have linked the teens to all three murders and have warned the public they should “consider them armed and dangerous”.

Police have identified the third Canadian highway murder victim as Leonard Dyck of Vancouver. Picture: RCMP

‘WE LIKE TO GO IN THE WOODS AND PLAY WAR’

This morning Schmegelsky’s father Alan gave an emotional but revealing interview with a local news outlet in which he admitted to having gifted his son an Airsoft replica gun for Christmas at the boy’s request.

He said Bryer had told him he and Kam had been “training in war” in the woods for more than two years and were masters of camouflage.

“My son he’s like, they’re huge into video games — all kids are — and two Christmases ago he asked me for an Airsoft gun, which is a replica gun, right?” Mr Schmegelsky told CHEK News.

“So he was telling me: ‘well me and the fellas, we like to go in the woods and play war’ right?”

“So knowing that the both of them are totally into that, if there was any threat, they would have done what they’ve actually trained themselves to do and they would have camouflaged themselves in the woods.”

Australian Lucas Deese and his American girlfriend Chynna Deese were ‘in love’ and on the trip of a lifetime when they were found shot dead on a remote Canadian highway last week. Picture: Deese Family via AP

Lucas Fowler and girlfriend Chynna Deese were very much in love, their families say. Picture: Deese Family/ Charlotte Observer

Lucas Fowler’s father, NSW Police chief inspector Stephen Fowler told reporters in Surrey, British Columbia of the murders: ‘It’s the worst kind of love story’. Picture: Peter Whittle/ News Corp Australia

Fighting back tears, Mr Schmegelsky clarified his comments by saying he did not believe the teens killed anyone but had instead witnessed the unidentified man’s murder and fled in fear of their lives.

“All I can think of is that they were at the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said.

“They’re both kids, they not violent, they’re good people, never got in trouble or anything right? I’m thinking a murder was committed two kilometres away and somebody decided: ‘let’s take care of the witnesses’.

“I talked to RCMP at 5.41am this morning and they told me it (the unidentified man’s body) was not my son and it was not his friend. They were able to identify the body as not either of them. So I’m thinking they’re at the wrong place at the wrong time.

“If there is any hope Bryer and Kam are alive it’s because they play Airsoft and they would have gone into the woods and they know how to hide because they’ve been doing it for two and a half years. I say, as a dad, those two boys are still out there. Go find them.”

SUSPECT’S FINAL MESSAGE TO DAD

Mr Schmegelsky said the last contact he had from the teens was a text message from his son on July 12.

It read: “We are going to Alberta today so I won’t have internet for a while. I’ll talk to you when I can”, he told CHEK News.

“Now, he (Bryer) has relatives who live in Red Deer (Alberta), so I just assumed that’s where they were going. I find out my kid was in northern BC (British Columbia) this morning, OK?

“They’re kids on an adventure, they’re good boys, they’ve been friends since elementary school. They just did five weeks of working at Walmart. They just graduated and their first job, they said: ‘this isn’t cutting it. Lets go find the real money. Alberta is where the money is at’.”

Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky are believed to be on the run following the gruesome murders of three people, including Aussie Lucas Fowler, on a Canadian highway. Picture: Facebook

McCleod and Schmegelsky hail from Port Alberni, a city of less than 18,000 people located on Vancouver Island in British Columbia.

The pair have been described by family as lifelong friends who had been inseparable since primary school.

Schmegelsky’s grandmother, Carol Starkey, told The Vancouver Sun the 18-year-old had been living with her for the past two years.

“He was a great kid. I really enjoyed having him,” she said.

Mr Schmegelsky has told reporters neither teen was violent or into drugs and had a shared obsession with video games.

POLICE RELEASE SKETCH OF UNIDENTIFIED MURDER VICTIM

RCMP have yet to identify the third victim, a man thought to be aged in his 50s or 60s found dead around two kilometres from the teens’ abandoned burning Dodge on July 19.

Investigators have released a sketch of the dead man, who had a beard and a receding hairline.

They have also released a likeness of a man seen talking to Mr Fowler on Highway 37 on the evening of July 14. The drawing bears some resemblance to McLeod.

Police have released a sketch of the unidentified man found dead two kilometres from McLeod and Schmegelsky's abandoned burning truck. Picture: RCMP

A police sketch of the man seen by a passer-by talking to Lucas Fowler on a remote highway in northern British Columbia a week ago. Picture: RCMP

Investigators want to speak to the man to learn more about Mr Fowler and Ms Deese’s activities in the lead up to their murder.

They have said he may be associated with an older model Jeep Cherokee with a black stripe on the hood and a black light/bull bar with small covered lights.

Meanwhile, the hunt for Shmegelsky and McLeod continues. They are believed to be driving a grey 2011 Toyota RAV 4 and were last seen in northern Saskatchewan.

Late Tuesday, the Manitoba Mounties put out an alert that there was reason to believe the teens may be in the area of Gillam, a town in northern Manitoba.

“We are asking the public: if you spot Kam or Bryer, consider them dangerous,” Sergeant Janelle Shoihet said during a press conference from the Lower Mainland on Tuesday.

“Take no action and immediately call 911.”

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Assistant Commissioner Kevin Hackett, left, listens as Sergeant Janelle Shoihet addresses media on July 23. Picture: Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP

Originally published as Baby-faced suspects in Canadian murders ‘trained in war and camouflage in the woods’