Kam McLeod & Bryer Schmegelsky’s Bodies Believed To Be Found, Ending Manhunt For Canadian Murder Suspects
The bodies of two Canadian teens, Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky, who are also suspects in a murder investigation, are believed to have been found near a river in Manitoba, effectively bringing an end to the weeks-long manhunt for them.
As Yahoo News reports, the Manitoba Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced Tuesday that the bodies of two males had been found in dense vegetation near the Nelson River. The bodies were found about five miles from a burned-out vehicle that had been previously linked to the suspects and that had been found earlier in the search.
As of this writing, the bodies have not been conclusively determined to be those of McLeod and Schmegelsky. However, in a tweet Tuesday afternoon, the RCMP announced, “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).”
Weeks ago, McLeod, 19, and Schmegelsky, 18, told their families they were going away to look for work and then were never heard from again. After a while, they were reported missing by their families.
Around the same time, bodies started turning up. An American woman, Chynna Noelle Deese, 24, and her Australian boyfriend, Lucas Robertson Fowler, 23, were found dead of apparent gunshot wounds on Monday, July 15, in a remote area of the northern Canadian Rockies. On July 19, a third body was found, that of Vancouver botanist Leonard Dyck.
On July 23, McLeod and Schmegelsky were officially named suspects in the deaths of Deese and Fowler, and were deemed to be possibly linked to the death of Dyck.
Canadian police on Monday said they have not found two murder suspects in an area of northern Manitoba they had searched for 24 hours after receiving a tip on the teenagers' possible location https://t.co/INSUfFRB3l
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 29, 2019
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, a frustrating series of close calls stymied the manhunt for the two suspects.
On July 21, a Cold Lake, Alberta resident helped out two men who were having vehicle trouble, only to later realize they were the missing and wanted teens. On July 28, York Landing, Manitoba residents spotted two young men, believed to be the suspects, scavenging through trash for food. The men slipped away before police could catch up to them.
Authorities received some much-needed breaks in the manhunt thanks to their usage of aerial surveillance. A police helicopter noticed a damaged boat along the Nelson River, as well as other objects believed to be tied to the two men. However, efforts were hindered by the rugged terrain and thick vegetation in the area.
As of this writing, authorities have not released the cause of death.
