Two Canadian teenagers who were initially believed to be missing are now suspects in the double murder of Australian Lucas Fowler, 23, and American Chynna Deese, 24, in Northern British Columbia last week, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced Tuesday.
Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, were named as suspects eight days after the couple’s bodies were discovered off of the Alaska Highway, about 12 miles south of Liard Hot Springs.
“[They] have left British Columbia and have been spotted in North Saskatchewan,” RCMP Sgt. Janelle Shoihet said Tuesday.
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The two teenagers—who are also suspected in the death of an unidentified man whose body was found next to their burned-out pickup truck—were last seen at the general store in Dease Lake in Northern B.C. on July 14. The pair told their parents they were going to Alberta in search of “work” and would not have cell service, according to authorities.
“We are asking the public: if you spot Kam or Bryer, consider them dangerous,” Shoihet said in a Tuesday press conference. “If you see them, do not approach, take no action, and immediately call 911.”
Authorities announced on Monday that Fowler and Deese were shot dead days into their two-week road trip through Canada. The pair were last seen at a gas station, hugging while waiting for their blue 1986 Chevrolet van to fill up, according to CCTV footage released Monday.
“It’s a love story that ended tragically. It’s the worst ever love story because we now have two young people who had everything ahead of them tragically murdered,” Stephen Fowler, Lucas’ father and a senior official in the New South Wales police force, said in a press conference in Surrey on Monday.
Fowler and Deese were found on July 15, and four days later, RCMP discovered the burned-out pickup truck belonging to McLeod and Schmegelsky, who were officially declared missing on Monday. Nearby, they found an unidentified man’s body. Police have also released a composite sketch of the man, describing him as a 50- to 60-year-old with a beard and heavy build.
Authorities said on Tuesday they will not release further details of the man until they figure out his identify.
“The manner in which he died is not important at this point,” Shoihet said.
Schmegelsky sent a text to his father on July 12, according Chek News, but the teens’ families haven’t heard from them since.
“I’m saying as a dad, those two boys are still out there, go find them,” he told the news outlet on Monday. “They’re good boys, they’re really good boys, they’ve been friends since elementary school.”
