The Royal Canadian Mounted Police(NEW YORK) — Police in Canada have announced a possible sighting of the suspects wanted in connection to three murders as the manhunt continues.
Before the weekend, authorities announced they planned to conduct door-to-door searches for Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, near Gillam, a town of just over 1,200 people situated along the Nelson River in Canada’s northeast Manitoba province.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police received a credible tip around 5 p.m. Sunday that two males matching their descriptions were seen in York Landing, about 90 kilometers southwest of Gillam, Julie Courchaine, media relations officer for the RCMP, told reporters Monday. York Landing is only accessible by boat or air, but a rail line travels there as well, Courchaine said.
The sighting has not yet been confirmed, and investigators have not made contact with the teens, Courchaine said.
The Canadian teens are wanted for second-degree murder in connection with the death of 64-year-old Leonard Dyck of Vancouver, who was found along a highway near Dease Lake in northwest Canada on July 19. Their camper was found in flames about 1.2 miles from Dyck’s body.
McLeod and Schmegelsky are also considered suspects in the shooting deaths of American Chynna Deese, 24, and her boyfriend, Australian Lucas Fowler, 23. Their bodies were discovered along a highway near Liard Hot Springs in northwest Canada on July 15.
The pair were previously last seen on July 22 in the Gillam area, just before authorities discovered the car they were known to be traveling in on fire. Gillam is about 2,000 miles east from where the three bodies were found. Their families also hadn’t heard from them in weeks, police said.
Schmegelsky’s father told The Canadian Press last week that he believed his son, whom he described as an introvert, was on a “suicide mission” and intended to go out in a “blaze of glory” during a confrontation with police.
“A normal child doesn’t travel across the country killing people,” Alan Schmegelsky told the Canadian news agency. “A child in some very serious pain does.”
Kam McLeod’s father told ABC News in a statement last week that he was “staying close to the phone” in case his son called.
“To the people who truly care; I am sitting at home worrying about my son. Relentless media [are] hounding us for answers we don’t have,” Keith McLeod said in his statement. “My family and I do know that Kam is a kind, considerate and caring young man who has always been concerned about other people’s feelings. As we are trapped in our homes due to media people, we try to wrap her head around what is happening. We hope that Kam will come home to us safely so we can all get to the bottom of this story.”
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