User:PattyB0YY/2019 Northern B.C. murders

= 2019 Northern B.C. murders = The northern B.C. murders was a spree killing along the Alaska Highway and Stewart–Cassiar Highway in the Canadian province of British Colombia that took place between July 14, 2019 and July 19, 2019. Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky are believed to have shot three people, a foreign couple out on vacation, Lucas Fowler and Chynna Deese, and a local university lecturer, Leonard Dyck. On July 23, 2019 a Canada-wide manhunt for the perpetrators was initiated by the RCMP and is currently ongoing.

Shootings
Australian citizen Lucas Fowler and girlfriend, Chynna Deese of North Carolina, were taking a three-week trip around Canada. On July 14, 2019 their blue 1986 Chevrolet van had broken down along the Alaska Highway, 20 kilometers south of Liard Hot Springs. At approximately 3:20 PM PST, Curtis Broughton, a mechanic, along with his wife Sandra, had stopped to check on the couple. “They seemed like they kind of had it under control. It was mechanical issues with the van. They were having a picnic waiting for the van to unflood, I guess, and try to start it again”. Curtis was assured that the couple knew what they were doing, and reported them to be "happy" and "smiling" before leaving shortly after. At approximately 7 AM on July 15, 2019, the bodies of Fowler and Deese were discovered by Trevor Pierre in a ditch next to their blue 1986 Chevrolet van, five feet apart. Both bodies were laying north, with their heads facing west with the van's back windows smashed and back doors left open, according to Pierre. On 19 July 2019, a burnt-out pickup truck was discovered south of the Stikine River Bridge on Highway 37. The body of Vancouver resident Leonard Dyck was found two kilometers south of the vehicle fire, with "similar circumstances" as Fowler and Deese who's bodies were found 470 kilometers away. Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky were initially reported as missing persons, as it was revealed that they had been operating the pickup truck before it was destroyed. On July 22, 2019 the RCMP believed there had been a possible link between the missing persons and murder victims in northern B.C.

Manhunt
Approximately nine days after the murders had begun, the RCMP sought second-degree murder charges laid against McLeod and Schmegelsky on July 23, 2019. After the case had received nation-wide attention, a resident of Cold Lake, Alberta reported helping two younger males who had their Toyota RAV4 stuck on July 21, 2019. The pair was later captured on surveillance footage at a Meadow Lake store in Saskatchewan on the same day. On July 22, 2019 McLeod and Schmegelsky were spotted twice in the Gillam area of Manitoba. The following day on July 23, 2019, a stolen burning Toyota RAV4 was found near Fox Lake Cree Nation, north of Gillam, believed to be driven by one of the suspects. By 24 July, 2019, the RCMP had deployed the Emergency Response Team, crisis negotiation and air services teams, and canine units to Gillam and it's surrounding area. A checkpoint had also been set up at the intersection of Provincial Roads 280 and 290, with foot and vehicle patrols canvassing the area. The RCMP had acknowledged the 'inhospitable' environment with dense forests, swampy terrain, and wild animals. As of July 23, 2019 McLeod and Schmegelsky had traversed 3,200 kilometers stretching through three Canadian provinces in ten days.

Canadian Armed Forces
On 26 July 2019, a request from RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki was approved by Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale and Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan for RCAF assistance. The operation would involve a search and rescue CC-130H Hercules aircraft from the nearby city of Winnipeg to help locate the suspects in the enclosed area of Gillam, Manitoba.

Bear Clan
On July 27, 2019 six members of the Bear Clan arrived in Gillam to offer its support and services to members of the the community, amid the ongoing manhunt.