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Canadian fugitives 'may be dead' as police scale back manhunt

The family of Lucas Fowler has made a selfless request before they look to lay him to rest on Friday as experts suggest his suspected killers may be dead.

The search for the 23-year-old Australian’s suspected killers Bryer Schmegelsky and Kam McLeod was scaled back on Wednesday (local time) with no sign of the teen fugitives.

Lucas Fowler’s sister Savannah took to Facebook on Wednesday to share a message from the family, two weeks after the bodies of her 23-year-old brother and his girlfriend Chynna Deese, 24, were found just off the Alaska Highway in northern British Columbia.

The couple were inseparable, according to Mr Fowler's father. Source: Facebook
Lucas Fowler and Chynna Deese pose for a photo. Source: Facebook

The pair, alongside murdered botanist Leonard Dyck, are believed to have been killed by McLeod, 18, and Schmegelsky, 19, who are yet to be found by authorities following extensive searches across Manitoba where their last known sighting was.

Ms Fowler said a service for her brother would take place on Friday in Turramurra and urged guests to avoid expenditure on the service to instead benefit those in need.

“We know that many will want to send flowers as a tribute to Lucas and Chynna. We would ask that instead, you consider donating to a charity close to your heart and that you notate the donation "for Lucas and Chynna",” she wrote.

She also reiterated her family’s stance on crowdfunding pages for Mr Fowler.

“Our family have not and do not intend to endorse any crowdfunding for Lucas.

“We thank you for all your support.”

Mr Fowler and Ms Deese met two years ago backpacking in Croatia and were on a road trip through Canada when they were murdered.

Their bodies were found in a ditch by a passerby on July 15 near their broken down truck they were using to travel Canada.

His father Stephen Fowler, a Chief Inspector in the NSW Police force, described their romance as “the worst ever love story” as he addressed media for the first time on his arrival in Canada earlier this month.

Stephen Fowler addressed media on Monday (local time). Source; CTV
Stephen Fowler said his son and his girlfriend were evidently in love. Source: CTV

Experts fear suspects could be dead as search scaled back

Following an extensive search for McLeod and Schmegelsky, which has taken authorities east across Canada as several new sightings emerged, authorities announced on Wednesday they would be scaling back their search.

Luke Grant, national security expert and a professor at both Queens University and Royal Military College, told 4BC radio he fears the pair haven’t survived their time in the wilderness.

“My personal opinion is that the two suspects are dead, he said.

“If they’re trying to survive in the woods in northern Manitoba, that’s very unforgiving, inhospitable territory. Between the mosquitoes, the muskeg and the bears, you’re not going to get very far.”

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police deployed a massive contingent of personnel and were assisted by Royal Canadian Air Force planes equipped with infra-red cameras and imaging radar to search 11,000 square kilometres around the town of Gillam and surrounding wilderness.

Pictured is three police officers with a sniffer dog in Manitoba.
Authorities are now scaling back their search in Manitoba. Source: CBC

More than 500 homes and buildings were canvassed and train tracks, trails and other locations were searched but authorities have failed to make any confirmed sightings.

After eight days of no official sightings of McLeod and Schmegelsky, the RCMP raised the possibility the duo was dead or had left the area.

"I know that today's news is not what the families of the victims and the communities of northern Manitoba wanted to hear," Manitoba RCMP Assistant Commissioner Jane MacLatchy said on Wednesday.

"But when searching for people in vast remote and rugged locations, it's always a possibility that they're not going to be immediately located.

Kam McLeod (left) and Bryer Schmesgelsky (right). Source: BCRCMP
Kam McLeod (left) and Bryer Schmesgelsky (right). Source: BCRCMP

"The terrain in northern Manitoba is immense.

"It's unforgiving.

"The weather is often very unpredictable.

"Additionally, there remains a possibility the suspects had some sort of assistance to flee the area."

Suspects helped by unwitting locals

McLeod and Schmegelsky are suspected of embarking on a killing spree two weeks ago in Canada's western province of British Columbia.

Four days after allegedly shooting dead Mr Fowler and Ms Deese, the teenagers allegedly murdered botanist Leonard Dyck on another BC highway 400km away and then drove 3000km east across Canada's north to Gillam where on July 23, they dumped and then set fire to their car.

Along the way they had peaceful encounters with a petrol station attendant, a safety officer on an alcohol checkpoint and a man who helped them after their vehicle became stuck in mud.

All three did not realise at the time McLeod and Schmegelsky were fugitives.

Pictured is Leonard Dyck
Leonard Dyck was also found dead and was allegedly killed by the teens. Source: BCRCMP

MacLatchy denied the RCMP in Manitoba took too long informing the public, telling reporters within an hour of discovering the teens might be in Manitoba, they alerted the public via Twitter.

The withdrawal of resources will come in phases over the next week.

"To be clear, we are not ending this search," she said.

"A number of tactical resources and specialised assets will remain positioned in the Gilliam area, and will continue the efforts to locate the murder suspects."

Survival experts and Gillam locals said if the teenagers attempted to hide in the wilderness and did not have the appropriate gear or shelter for the swampy sub-Antarctic boreal forest, they would likely die from blood-sucking insects, tainted water, starvation, bears and other predators.

RCMP search teams had dogs attempting to find their scent but MacLatchy said she was not sure if the dogs were trained to find dead bodies.

"It's just a very tough place to find somebody who doesn't want to be found," MacLatchy said.

McLeod and Schmegelsky were described by family members as "good kids" who quit their Walmart jobs on Vancouver Island to drive north to Yukon to find work.

The teens instead allegedly went on the killing spree.

With AAP

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