Manitoba RCMP announced on Wednesday it believes the remains officers found that morning along the Nelson River are two B.C. murder suspects.
The country-wide hunt for 19-year-old Kam McLeod and 18-year-old Bryer Schmegelsky has come to an end.
The pair were charged with 2nd degree murder in the death of a B.C. university professor, Leonard Dyck. They’re also suspects in the deaths of Australian Lucas Fowler and his North Carolina girlfriend Chynna Deese, who had been travelling through Canada.
The last confirmed sighting of McLeod and Schmegelsky was on July 22 in Gillam, Manitoba. A scorched vehicle they were suspected to have been driving was found nearby in an area of dense bush.
“Our officers knew that we just needed to find that one piece of evidence that could move this search forward,” said an RCMP news release. “On Friday, August 2nd, that one critical piece of evidence was found—items directly linked to the suspects were located on the shoreline of the Nelson River.”
One item they found was a damaged aluminum boat.
Officers found the bodies around 10 a.m. on Wednesday within one kilometre of these items and within about eight kilometres of the burnt out vehicle.
“We are confident that these are the bodies of the two suspects wanted in connection with the homicides in British Columbia,” said the release.
An autopsy is scheduled in Winnipeg to confirm their identities and cause of death.
