There’s been a huge development up in Canada. Police announced Tuesday that two “missing” teens are now being treated as suspects in the murders of a couple, and a still-unidentified man. Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, and Kam McLeod, 19, are considered dangerous, said the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. They’ve been spotted in the province of Saskatchewan, said authorities. Investigators suggested Tuesday they may be in Manitoba, possibly in the area of Gillam.
“They were seen driving a grey 2011 Toyota Rav 4,” cops said.
PUBLIC SAFETY – Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky MAY be in Manitoba and are considered dangerous. We have reasons to believe they were recently in the Gillam area. If you spot them – take no actions – do not approach – call 911 or your local police immediately. #rcmpmb pic.twitter.com/yh2yV78oZd
— RCMP Manitoba (@rcmpmb) July 23, 2019
Cops said last week they found the bodies of North Carolina native Chynna Noelle Deese, 24, and her Australian boyfriend Lucas Fowler, 23, in a remote Highway area of British Columbia. They had been killed. The young couple had been traveling through the area. That ended in tragedy, but the circumstances behind these homicides remained mysterious.
Shortly after, cops announced they were looking for two missing teens: McLeod and Schmegelsky. They’d been driving through BC in a Dodge pickup truck, and were expected to reach the Yukon Territory up north for work, said cops. That vehicle turned up on fire in BC. The teens were nowhere to be found, but investigators discovered a dead man 2 kilometers away, said cops.
At first, it was unclear what connections the missing teens may or may not have had with the dead man. Also, police only acknowledged “growing community concerns” about this and the Deese-Fowler investigation. No link was immediately clear. After all, the crime scenes were about 470 kilometers apart.
Well, cops now say the incidents are very related, and that the teens might be responsible for the unidentified man’s death as well. Officers are serious about this:
You can call the Major Crime Tipline at 1-877-543-4822 or 778-290-5291. We remain committed to providing you with information that is important in advancing our investigations or any concerns with respect to public safety.
We are asking the public that if you spot Kam Mclead or Bryer Schmegelsky to consider them as dangerous – take no actions – do not approach – and call 911 immediately.
Both of the missing teenage suspects are described as 6’4″ and about 169 pounds. McLeod has dark brown hair and facial hair, with brown eyes. Schmegelsky has sandy brown hair.
Police are also seeking help to identify the still-unidentifed man found 2 kilometers from the vehicle fire. He was described as being between 5’8″ and 5’10” and caucasian. He had a heavy build, was 50 to 60 years old, and sported grey hair and a grey bushy beard.
“Anyone with any information about the identify of the deceased male is asked to please call 1-877-543-4822 or 778-290-5291,” cops said.
Schmegelsky’s father Al Schmegelsky spoke to CHEK News before his son and McLeod were named as suspects, and said he last communicated with them on July 12 via text message (Deese and Fowler were killed some time July 14 to 15, cops said). In regard to the dead man, he suggested that maybe the boys were in the “wrong place at the wrong time”–perhaps there was a murder, and someone wanted to get rid of the witnesses. The elder Schmegelsky said that if the teens were alive, it’s because they gained wilderness experience playing airsoft as a hobby. They would’ve hid in the woods from any threat, he said.
“They know how to hide because they’ve been doing this for the last two and a half years,” he said.
He insisted they were good people.
[Images via Royal Canadian Mounted Police]
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