The two week long manhunt for Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky is over.
RCMP have just located two male bodies believed to be that of the two teenage murder suspects from Port Alberni, found on the shoreline of Nelson River, Manitoba.
At 10 a.m. on Wednesday morning, police located what they believe are the bodies of 19-year-old Kam McLeod and 18-year-old Bryer Schmegelsky, approximately 8 km away from where their burnt vehicle had originally been found.
“At this time, we are confident that these are the bodies of the two suspects wanted in connection with the homicides in British Columbia. An autopsy is being scheduled in Winnipeg to confirm their identities and to determine their cause of death,” said Manitoba RCMP Assistant Commissioner Jame MacLatchy in a statement.
See also: RCMP recover “several items” linked to Vancouver Island murder suspects in Manitoba
According to RCMP, the items found on the shoreline of Nelson River on Friday, August 2nd gave them the last bit of evidence they needed to narrow down their search.
Once they found these items, specialized teams began searching high probability areas which led them to locate the bodies of the two fugitives in the dense brush about 1 km from where the items were found.
The search is over. At 10am this morning, Manitoba RCMP officers located the bodies of two males, believed to be the BC suspects, near the shoreline of the Nelson River (approx 8km from the burnt vehicle). #rcmpmb pic.twitter.com/tZ7EBFsNDr
— RCMP Manitoba (@rcmpmb) August 7, 2019
Our officers knew we needed just one piece of evidence to move the search forward & on Friday, August 2nd, the items found on the shoreline of the Nelson River & directly linked to the suspects, enables officers to narrow down the search. #rcmpmb
— RCMP Manitoba (@rcmpmb) August 7, 2019
Specialized RCMP teams begin searching nearby high-probability areas, leading officers to the discovery of the two male bodies, in the dense brush, within 1 km from where the items were found. #rcmpmb
— RCMP Manitoba (@rcmpmb) August 7, 2019
Background
The small community of Gillam, MB, was the centre of the Canadian media spotlight over the past several weeks after police determined that the community was the probable area where Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmgelsky were hiding out.
McLeod and Schmegelsky have been charged with second degree murder in the death of 64-year-old University of British Columbia lecturer Leonard Dyck.
His body was found on July 19th at a pullout on Highway 37 in Northern BC near a burnt vehicle that belonged to the teenage fugitives.
The pair are also suspects in the deaths of 25-year-old Chynna Deese and 23-year-old Lucas Robertson who were found shot and killed on the side of the highway near Liard Hot Springs on July 15th, approximately 470 kilometres away from where the boys’ burnt out car was found.
