'We weren’t aware': Canadian police stopped wanted men before unwittingly letting them go
A crucial opportunity to apprehend two Canadian teens wanted for murder was missed by local authorities after they stopped the pair only to let them go - unaware they were at the centre of a nationwide manhunt.
The cruel twist of fate was revealed by Canadian news outlet Global News which spoke to local indigenous police who had the wanted men in their grasp last week.
The hunt continues for suspects Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, and Kam McLeod, 19, who are charged with the murder of a Canadian man and also wanted in connection with the killing of Australian man Lucas Fowler and his American girlfriend.
The remote area where Canadian fugitives are believed to be hiding
Police swarm remote town after 'new sighting' of teen fugitives
Nathan Neckoway is a local councillor from the Tataskweyak Cree Nation. The region is about 169 kilometres from Gillam, where the massive police and military manhunt for the pair has been focused in recent days.
Because Tataskweyak Cree Nation is a dry county, local police were conducting routine stop-checks on passing motorists, checking if they had any alcohol in the car, Mr Neckoway told the Global News.
That’s when they stopped the two men.
However not finding anything problematic, they were unwittingly allowed to drive on.
“We weren’t aware of their status, of them being wanted,” Mr Neckoway said.
It turns out, it was just a matter of hours that allowed the men to slip through unrecognised.
“Apparently after they came to our community that’s when they sent out that wanted [status],” Mr Neckoway said.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police personnel and Royal Canadian Air Force planes are concentrating their search on the quiet, isolated town of York Landing.
The latest search effort comes amid reports two men matching their description were reportedly seen foraging for food at a garbage dump on Sunday afternoon (local time).
However police were unable to substantiate the tip.
"Our officers on the ground have not made contact with the individuals, so we are not yet in a position to confirm that these are the wanted suspects," RCMP Corporal Julie Courchaine told reporters on Monday.
Scared resident ‘sleeping with a shotgun’
In the Canadian towns of Gillam and York Landing where authorities are search for the men, locals are on edge.
"I just hope they bring the little bastards to justice so everyone can relax," Gillam resident Clint Sawchuk told AAP.
He has been sleeping with a 12-gauge shotgun the past week.
He said most of his neighbours have sent their wives and kids out of town until the pair are captured.
It has been two weeks since the bodies of Australian tourist Lucas Fowler, 23, and his North Carolina girlfriend Chynna Deese, 24, were found in a ditch beside a remote highway in British Columbia, about 3000 kilometres west of Gillam, Manitoba.
The Mounties have named Mr McLeod and Mr Schmegelsky, childhood friends and former Walmart employees from Vancouver Island, as the suspects.
The hunt for them continues.
With APP
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