The remote area where Canadian fugitives are believed to be hiding
The two teenage fugitives wanted over a killing spree across remote northern Canada that left Australian tourist Lucas Fowler, his US girlfriend and a botanist dead continue to elude a massive manhunt.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police personnel and Royal Canadian Air Force planes had concentrated their search on the quiet, isolated town of York Landing after two tall, skinny men fitting the description of Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, were spotted possibly foraging for food at a garbage dump on Sunday afternoon (local time).
"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.
"Our goal today remains to safely locate, apprehend and identify the individuals."
Police announced on Monday they are unable to “substantiate” the tip but would continue to have a presence in York Landing as well as Gillam.
Elected Chief Of York Factory First Nation Leroy Constant announced late on Monday (local time) that police were to leave York Landing on Tuesday following an unsuccessful “extensive search”.
“Emergency Response Team will head back to Gillam and develop a plan moving forward. Major Crime Unit has also left the community,” he said in a statement.
The last 10 remaining officers will leave York Landing at 8am by ferry on Tuesday.
Speculation was rife on social media on Sunday with locals from several Manitoba communities sharing misinformation online suggesting the teens had been captured.
Amateur footage of a patrol car and a helicopter surrounding a property in what appears to be York Landing quickly spread online.
Police urged those online and the media to avoid sharing imagery of active operations to avoid giving away their locations.
Remote town only accessible in summer months
York Landing is an inland island community in northern Manitoba only accessible in the summer months by air or a two-hour ferry crossing. It has a population of about 460.
There is also a rail line about 25km south.
"Not that I know of – any credible tips – but I can't say for sure," said Corporal Courchine when asked if anyone had seen the two suspects.
The York Landing dump is about 90km southwest of the town of Gillam. By road and ferry, the journey is about 200km.
Gillam is the rural community where the duo allegedly torched their Toyota RAV4 getaway car a week ago and were presumed to have fled into bushland on foot.
Suspicious behaviour in York Landing
Two members of the Bear Clan, an indigenous community policing group that was checking the York Landing landfill on Sunday, noticed two men foraging through the rubbish.
McLeod and Schmegelsky would physically stick out in the quiet community of just 500 or so people.
They are both 193cm tall and weigh just 77kg.
That late Sunday sighting presented major logistical problems for the RCMP to quickly send resources to the area.
After a thorough & exhaustive search, #rcmpmb has not been able to substantiate the tip in York Landing. RCMP resources will continue to be in the York Landing & Gillam areas.
We thank the community for their patience & understanding & ask them to continue to be vigilant.— RCMP Manitoba (@rcmpmb) July 29, 2019
"It's not just, you know, you can drive there in 20 minutes," Corporal Courchine said.
"This is, OK, now we need flights, we need to get our members out there.
"So the logistics of that, the darkness, the terrain, all that is obviously things that are tough to deal with."
The RCMP is aided by military technology.
The Royal Canadian Air Force has sent a CC-130H Hercules and a CP-140 Aurora patrol plane equipped with infrared cameras and imaging radar to scan the landscape.
The teenagers also have to deal with bears, which often visit the dump, and other predators in the area.
Evading teens may be desperate
Authorities searching for the teens are also dealing with the threat McLeod and Schmegelsky are armed and likely desperate after two weeks on the run.
They allegedly began their killing spree two weeks ago 3000km away in Canada’s western province of British Columbia.
Mr Fowler, 23, from Sydney, and his North Carolina girlfriend Chynna Deese, 24, were on a Canadian road trip when their old van broke down on a highway.
Their bodies were found in a ditch beside the freeway.
Four days later, botanist Leonard Dyck was found dead on another BC highway.
McLeod and Schmegelsky then drove east to Gillam before torching their getaway vehicle.
The teenagers and longtime best friends lived on Vancouver Island and had worked at a Walmart but told family members they were driving north to Yukon to find work.
McLeod and Schmegelsky were originally declared missing when the three bodies were first found but the RCMP last week charged the duo with Mr Dyck's second-degree murder and launched the nationwide manhunt.
With AAP
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