An Alberta man has revealed how he unknowingly helped free the Canadian murder suspects’ SUV after it got stuck in mud.
Tommy Ste-Croix wrote on Facebook he crossed paths with teenagers Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky on Sunday July 21 when their car was stuck behind a hospital.
The duo were considered to be ‘missing’ following the homicides of American Chynna Deese, 24, her Australian boyfriend Lucas Fowler, 23, and Vancouver botany professor Leonard Dyck.
Mr Ste-Croix only realised he had come face-to-face with the two murder suspects when CCTV images of the pair were released by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police only days later.
Tommy Ste-Croix wrote on Facebook he crossed paths with the teenage murder suspects
Kam McLeod, 19, (left) and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, (right) have been on the run in northern Canada since they allegedly murdered three people in British Columbia two weeks ago, including American Chynna Deese, 24, her 23-year-old Australian boyfriend Lucas Fowler and Vancouver professor Leonard Dyck
‘Holy f***!!! My big heart could of got me killed,’ he wrote on Wednesday July 24.
‘One shot to the back and that would of been it.’
Mr Ste-Croix said he pulled the teenagers out from mud at about 7am and they appeared exactly the same as in the images.
‘They got stuck behind Cold Lake Hospital in a grey RAV4,’ he wrote, adding they were likely behind the wheel of a 2015 model.
‘Wish I’d of known, something wasn’t right with these guys.
‘Even shook their hands after getting them unstuck.’
After the alleged murders McLeod and Schmegelsky drove about 1,800 miles east to the Gillam area before torching a Toyota RAV4, the same vehicle described by Mr Ste-Croix
Mr Ste-Croix said he must ‘look like a mean mother f***er’ because he was out numbered two to one and they could have taken off with his truck.
‘Was in the back alley alone with them. They gave me their real names also,’ he said.
In the comments section Mr Ste-Croix added: ‘I must say that it’s a big tragedy for both sides’.
‘Really wish these boys get caught and justice gets served.’
Mr Ste-Croix told Vancouver Sun he gave the RCMP a video statement after he was urged by friends to come forward with the sighting.
‘It’s a wake up call. It is scary, hasn’t completely sunk in yet on how bad the situation could of gotten,’ he said.
The search for the two teens shifted to the remote York Landing on Sunday after they were reportedly spotted foraging for food. York Landing is accessible only by air or a ferry, though a rail line runs about 15 miles away
This map plots the teenagers’ movements since the murders took place
Ms Deese and Mr Fowler were on a Canadian road trip in British Columbia two weeks ago when their old van broke down on Alaska Highway.
Their bodies were found in a ditch beside the freeway early on Monday July 15.
Four days later a botanist, Leonard Dyck, was found dead on another highway.
McLeod and Schmegelsky then drove about 1,800 miles east to the Gillam area before torching a Toyota RAV4, the same vehicle described by Mr Ste-Croix.
McLeod and Schmegelsky were last spotted in the town of Gillam, where extensive search efforts were previously concentrated before shifting to York Landing, about 55 miles away, on Sunday.
The Royal Canadian Air Force joined the search at the weekend with authorities spending up to 20 hours each day scouring the remote area for the boys.
They are wanted over the murders of American Chynna Deese, 24, and her 23-year-old Australian boyfriend Lucas Fowler (left), as well as Vancouver botany professor, Leonard Dyck (right)
Searchers have been using military helicopters, drones, sniffer dogs and sensor technology to try to track the pair.
Authorities have also been going door-to-door canvassing locals in their homes and searching abandoned buildings in the hope of finding the duo or picking up clues.
Officials have warned that McLeod and Schmegelsky could succumb to the harsh terrain before police even find them given the threats of polar bears, grizzlies and blood-sucking flies.
RCMP said late Monday that an extensive search of York Landing had failed to find the fugitives.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said late Monday that an extensive search of the small village of York Landing in Manitoba had failed to find the fugitives
The area surrounding Gillam, Manitoba, is made up of dense bush, forest and swamp land. It has prompted officials to warn that the teens may perish before they are even found by police
‘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,’ they said on Twitter.
‘We thank the community for their patience & understanding & ask them to continue to be vigilant.’
On Tuesday, RCMP said they had received over 260 tips in the past seven days and none have have established that the suspects are outside of the Gillam area.
‘However, #rcmpmb continues to remind the public that it is possible the suspects inadvertently received assistance & are no longer in the area,’ they said on Twitter.
Pictured: Teenage murder suspects who are on the run from RCMP