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Police Swarm Manitoba After Possible Sighting Of Canadian Teen Murder Suspects
“We are urging everyone to remain indoors with windows and doors locked,” one official said, as the manhunt intensified.
The manhunt for two Canadian teens suspected of murdering three people, including an American and her boyfriend, intensified over the weekend after a possible sighting of the pair in York Landing, Manitoba.
As authorities swarmed the community, police urged the public to stay inside and lock their doors with the two suspects still on the loose.
“All efforts are being made in York Landing to apprehend two individuals matching the description of the suspects,” Royal Canadian Mounted Police Manitoba said in a statement on Twitter. “The safety of community members is our priority.”
Kam McLeod, 19 and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, are wanted by authorities in connection with three murders in British Columbia. North Carolina resident Chynna Deese, 24, and her Australian boyfriend Lucas Fowler, 23, were found shot to death along the highway just outside the popular tourist destination Liard Hot Springs on July 15.
Then, just four days later, the camper van McLeod and Schmegelsky were driving was found engulfed in flames almost 300 miles away. The body of Leonard Dyck, 64, of Vancouver, British Columbia was found nearby.
McLeod and Schmegelsky were initially reported as “missing” by authorities but the categorization quickly changed to “suspects” in all three murders as the investigation continued.
Authorities told residents in York Landing to expect a “heavy police presence” as they searched for the teens.
Yesterday, RCMP Manitoba said officers had searched cottages, cabins, waterways and the rail line in the area looking for any signs of the suspects.
“This search of remote areas is being conducted both on foot & in the air,” they said, adding the that terrain was “immense” and covered with lakes, ponds and muskeg.
Chief Leroy Constant with York Factory First Nation said the RCMP had “deployed multiple resources” in York Landing to try to apprehend the suspects after a “possible sighting” around the community’s landfill Sunday night.
“RCMP will remain on the scene with Helicopter, Dogs & Emergency Response Team,” he wrote on Facebook. “They will remain until further notice.”
Both suspects are considered dangerous and the public has been urged not to approach the teens if they are sighted.
“We are urging everyone to remain indoors with windows and doors locked,” Constant said.
Schmegelsky’s father, Alan Schmegelsky, said in an earlier interview with The Canadian Press that he believes his son plans to “go out in a blaze of glory,” as the manhunt intensifies.
“He’s on a suicide mission,” he said. “He wants his pain to end.”
