Canadian police set up checkpoints on the only road leading in to remote area where teenage murder suspects were last seen as tips pour in after two sightings of the pair are confirmed
- Police in Manitoba have set up check points and are combing rough woodland
- They are searching for Bryer Schmegelsky and Kam McLeod who have been on the run now since last week
- The teens are wanted in connection with three murders in British Columbia
- They have ditched their last known car and are now thought to be traveling on foot but police do not know where they are
- There have been two confirmed sightings of them in Gillam, a remote town, but they went to ground after being named as suspects
- Bryer’s father said on Wednesday he believes his son will be shot dead by cops
Canadian police have set up a checkpoint on the only road leading into the remote area where two teenage murder suspects are believed to be hiding and have ramped up their efforts to find them.
Armed police are now combing through the rough land in Gillam, Manitoba, where Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, are believed to be hiding.
The pair have not been seen since Monday, July 22, before they were named as suspects but their car was found burned out on Wednesday.
Authorities do not believe they have stolen another vehicle, leading them to assume that the pair are moving around on foot.
The area is vast and remote, covered in woodland and described as ‘impenetrable’ by experts.
Kam McLeod, left, and Bryer Schmegelsy, 18,are being hunted by police in Manitoba
Police in Manitoba are shown mapping the areas where they are looking for the two teenage suspects
Royal Canadian Mounted Police SWAT Team have been swarming the small town of Gillam, Manitoba, a remote area of northern Canada, where the teens left their incinerated vehicle
‘At this point in the investigation, we believe they are still in this area,’ Cpl. Julie Courchaine of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Manitoba said on Thursday.
The pair were spotted twice in Gillam before they went underground.
Since then, police have received 80 tips from the public.
Now, there are armed police from several departments combing through the land.
Experts say it would be impossible to survive where they are without supplies or strong knowledge of the area.
‘If you don’t have the means to be in there, you’re not going to make it.
‘I don’t think they could live in the bush — it’s mean — but when you’re desperate, who knows?’ William Hunter, a retired forest fighter, told CBC.
This map plots the teenagers’ movements over the last few days and where the murders took place last week
This is the teenagers’ Toyota RAV4 after it was set on fire in rural Manitoba on Monday hours after their photographs were released by the police
Bryer’s father Alan previously said he believed the pair were hiding, that they knew how to keep themselves alive in the woods but that he thought they would soon be killed by police.
‘Mounties are gonna shoot first and ask questions late,’ he said, referring to the teams of Royal Canadian Mounted Police which are scouring the vast rural area, hunting the boys.
‘He wants his hurt to end. They’re going to go out in a blaze of glory. Trust me on this. That’s what they’re going to do.
‘This is a suicide mission. He’s going to be dead today or tomorrow,’ he said.
The boys are accused of killing Lucas Fowler, 24, and Chynna Deese, 23, then leaving dumping their bodies which were found on July 15.
Three days later, their burned-out truck was found in a different area of British Columbia.
A mile away, the body of 64-year-old Leonard Dyck was discovered.
It remains unclear what their possible motivation for the killings could be.
Victims: Lucas Fowler and Chynna Deese were found dead on July 15. Leonard Dyck, 64, (right) was named on Wednesday as the victim found 1 mile from their car